Electronic device, imaging control apparatus and control method thereof

ABSTRACT

An electronic device sets, in accordance with a use operation, which one of a plurality of objects is to be used to display a specific setting item on a setting screen. The plurality of objects include a first object and a second object whose display size, information amount to be displayed, and number of types of operable setting values are larger than the first object. In case where the first object is displayed on the setting screen, the electronic device changes a first setting value concerning the specific setting item in accordance with an operation on one of a first or second operation member. In case where the second object is displayed on the setting screen, the electronic device changes the first and second setting values in accordance with the operations on the first and second operation members, respectively.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 15/013,670,filed Feb. 2, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electronic device and imagingcontrol apparatus that include a user interface configured to do variouskinds of settings and a control method thereof.

Description of the Related Art

In general, there is known an electronic device that provides, as a userinterface, a setting screen configured to do various kinds of settingsusing a display device. Such an electronic device has variouscontrivances to improve user operability. For example, a digital cameracontrives a user interface that allows a user to more easily makesettings such as a shutter speed, f-number, auto focus mode, whitebalance, and ISO at the time of shooting.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-177365 (to be referred to asliterature 1 hereinafter) describes a function of displaying a list ofthe contents of a plurality of setting items as characters. Literature 1explicitly describes that when a setting item is selected from thedisplayed list, a sub screen is displayed to allow the user to changethe setting. In addition, when the display returns from the sub screento the list display, the setting item of the changed setting ishighlighted for a predetermined period in the list display. JapanesePatent Laid-Open No. 2007-110434 (to be referred to as literature 2hereinafter) describes a user interface using a screen in which piecesof information about the items of shooting conditions are arranged in amatrix on an item basis. According to literature 2, the user is causedto select a desired setting item on such a screen by operating anXY-direction operation unit, and after selection of the desired settingitem, set the condition by a rotation operation of a dial.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-159180 (to be referred to asliterature 3 hereinafter) proposes an imaging apparatus capable oflaying out a GUI (Graphical User Interface) button selected by the userout of a plurality of GUI buttons indicating various kinds of settingitems at a position designated by the user. Japanese Patent Laid-OpenNo. 06-083537 (to be referred to as literature 4 hereinafter) proposeschanging the size of an input enable area (a so-called touch button thatis a kind of GUI button) displayed on a touch panel such that it fits tothe size of the finger of the user who operates the touch panel.Japanese Patent No. 5153512 (to be referred to as literature 5hereinafter) proposes an imaging apparatus that displays setting values,which can be set in a case in which a shooting condition compensationfunction and an auto bracketing function are used in combination, inassociation with a scale.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-305360 (to be referred to as literature6 hereinafter) proposes a customized menu method for a hierarchical menuand a television system using this method.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-168256 (to be referred to as literature7 hereinafter) proposes a camera which, after the user selects adistance measuring point or sets an automatic selection state of thedistance measuring point, always displays the set distance measuringpoint or the automatic selection state, thereby allowing thephotographer to confirm distance measuring point information even if thecamera is let stand after the setting of the distance measuring point.

In literature 1, according to selection of a setting item, a transitionto the sub screen configured to change the setting state of the selectedsetting item occurs. The user changes the setting state on the subscreen. On the other hand, literature 2 describes an arrangement thatenables a setting state to be changed by rotating a dial when the userselects a desired setting item on a screen on which a plurality ofsetting items are displayed as a list. Hence, according to literature 2,the setting state of a desired setting item can be changed withoutcausing a transition to a sub screen. Additionally, in literature 2, ifa specific button is operated in a state in which the desired settingitem is selected, a transition to a sub screen that displays a list ofsetting states settable for the selected setting item occurs, and thesetting can be changed on the screen.

However, both literatures 1 and 2 only describe selecting a desiredsetting state from a plurality of setting states arranged in one layer.However, some setting items have setting states in a plurality oflayers. For example, white balance has a layer of first setting values(setting modes) for specifying a type (one of auto (AWB), sunlight,shade, color temperature, and the like) and a layer of second settingvalues (Kelvin values) that represent specific values of the colortemperature when the first setting value is the color temperature. In auser interface that selects one of setting states arranged in one layer,as in literatures 1 and 2, a screen used to select the first settingvalue and a screen used to set the second setting value need to beprepared for one setting item “white balance”. In this case, whensetting the white balance, screen switching occurs, resulting in acumbersome operation.

If the number of types of setting values to be displayed increases, thedisplay size of the setting item also increases probably. Whendisplaying a list of setting items, as in literature 1, if the displaysize of a setting item is large, the area to display other setting itemsbecomes tight. Hence, concerning the white balance, a user who rarelysets a color temperature and normally only needs to change the settingstate of the first setting value probably wants a setting item thatenables the first setting value to be changed easily and has a smalldisplay size. On the other hand, a user who often sets a colortemperature for the white balance probably wants a setting item thatenables the setting state of the second setting value to be changedeasily even if the display size becomes large.

The contents of information display that the user expects of a displayitem may change between a case in which a setting is done to display thedisplay item large and a case in which a setting is done to display thedisplay item small. For example, the setting to display the display itemsmall is assumed to be done considering that the information amount ofthe setting item corresponding to the display item can be small. On theother hand, the setting to display the display item large may be done inexpectation of detailed information easy to understand about the settingcontents of the setting item corresponding to the display item. Forexample, the user is assumed to expect information display that needs alarge display area using a scale, as in literature 5. However, in theconventional technique as described in literature 4, even when the sizeof a display item is changed, the display contents do not change, andcontents of information display expected by the user for each size ofthe display item are not obtained.

There is an execution method of, upon receiving an instruction toexecute a function, displaying a confirmation screen to ask whether todo execution and executing the function in accordance with an executionconfirmation operation. This can prevent the user from erroneouslyexecuting the function. However, since the confirmation operation isnecessary, the number of operations increases. In a customized screenfor which the user selects items to be displayed, as described inliteratures 3 and 6, the user knows the functions of the displayedfunctions well, and attention call such as the confirmation screen maybe unnecessary.

When displaying an item concerning a focus position such as a distancemeasuring point in accordance with user selection, as in literature 3,the size of an item to display one item is fixed in the method ofliterature 3. It is therefore difficult to adjust the information amountof the item concerning the focus position in accordance with theapplication purpose of the user. Especially in a setting associated withthe focus position, when the user wants to only confirm the settingvalue about the focus adjustment area, a display area of a small areasuffices. However, to confirm a plurality of positions selectable as afocus adjustment position and a selected focus position, a display areaof a large area is needed. In addition, the value that should undergosetting change is different.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the present invention discloses an electronicdevice that provides an operation environment according to needs of auser on a customizable setting screen used to change the settings of theelectronic device.

Also, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention,there are provided an electronic device capable of displaying morepreferable setting contents according to the display size of a settingitem and a control method thereof.

Also, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention,there are provided an electronic device that reduces the number ofoperations until execution of a function that the user knows well and acontrol method thereof.

Furthermore, according to the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, there are provided an imaging control apparatus that displaysan item concerning focus in a size suitable for the contents ofinformation desired by the user and facilitates confirmation of asetting concerning focus, and a control method thereof.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided anelectronic device comprising: a display control unit configured todisplay, on a display unit, a setting screen on which an objectcorresponding to a setting item of the electronic device is laid out; asetting unit configured to set, in accordance with a user operation,which one of a plurality of objects is to be used to display a specificsetting item on the setting screen, the plurality of objects including afirst object and a second object whose display size is larger than thefirst object and whose information amount to be displayed is larger thanthe first object, and the number of types of setting values operable bythe second object being larger than the number of types of settingvalues operable by the first object; and a change unit configured to, ina case in which the first object is selected and displayed on thesetting screen, change a setting state of a first setting valueconcerning the specific setting item in accordance with an operation onone of a first operation member and a second operation member, and in acase in which the second object is selected and displayed on the settingscreen, change the first setting value in accordance with the operationon the first operation member and change a setting state of a secondsetting value concerning the specific setting item in accordance withthe operation on the second operation member.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda control method of an electronic device, comprising: displaying, on adisplay unit, a setting screen on which an object corresponding to asetting item of the electronic device is laid out; setting, inaccordance with a user operation, which one of a plurality of objects isto be used to display a specific setting item on the setting screen, theplurality of objects including a first object and a second object whosedisplay size is larger than the first object and whose informationamount to be displayed is larger than the first object, and the numberof types of setting values operable by the second object being largerthan the number of types of setting values operable by the first object;and in a case in which the first object is selected and displayed on thesetting screen, changing a setting state of a first setting valueconcerning the specific setting item in accordance with an operation onone of a first operation member and a second operation member, and in acase in which the second object is selected and displayed on the settingscreen, changing the first setting value in accordance with theoperation on the first operation member and changing a setting state ofa second setting value concerning the specific setting item inaccordance with the operation on the second operation member.

According to other aspect of the present invention, there is provided anelectronic device comprising: a setting unit configured to set, inaccordance with a user operation, which one of a plurality of objectsincluding at least a first object and a second object larger than thefirst object is to be used to display a specific setting item; and adisplay control unit configured to control to, in a case in which thesetting unit sets to display the specific setting item using the firstobject, display a value set concerning the specific setting item as thefirst object, and in a case in which the setting unit sets to displaythe specific setting item using the second object, display a scaleconcerning the specific setting item as the second object and performdisplay indicating a position corresponding to a setting value of thespecific setting item on the scale.

According to other aspect of the present invention, there is provided acontrol method of an electronic device, comprising: setting, inaccordance with a user operation, which one of a plurality of objectsincluding at least a first object and a second object larger than thefirst object is to be used to display a specific setting item; andcontrolling to, in a case in which it is set to display the specificsetting item using the first object, display a value set concerning thespecific setting item as the first object, and in a case in which in thesetting, it is set to display the specific setting item using the secondobject, display a scale concerning the specific setting item as thesecond object and perform display indicating a position corresponding toa setting value of the specific setting item on the scale.

According to other aspect of the present invention, there is provided animaging control apparatus comprising: a setting unit configured to set,in accordance with a user operation, which one of a plurality of objectsincluding at least a first object and a second object larger than thefirst object is to be used to display a focus item concerning a focusadjustment position; and a control unit configured to control to, in acase in which the setting unit sets to display the focus item using thefirst object, perform display concerning the focus item as the firstobject, and change a setting of a focus adjustment area when a firstoperation is performed in a state in which the first object is selected,and in a case in which the setting unit sets to display the focus itemusing the second object, perform display concerning the focus item asthe second object, and change the focus adjustment positioncorresponding to the set focus adjustment area when the first operationis performed in a state in which the second object is selected.

According to other aspect of the present invention, there is provided acontrol method of an imaging control apparatus, comprising: setting, inaccordance with a user operation, which one of a plurality of objectsincluding at least a first object and a second object larger than thefirst object is to be used to display a focus item concerning a focusadjustment position; and controlling to, in a case in which in thesetting, it is set to display the focus item using the first object,perform display concerning the focus item as the first object, andchange a setting of a focus adjustment area when a first operation isperformed in a state in which the first object is selected, and in acase in which in the setting, it is set to display the focus item usingthe second object, perform display concerning the focus item as thesecond object, and change the focus adjustment position corresponding tothe set focus adjustment area when the first operation is performed in astate in which the second object is selected.

According to other aspect of an electronic device comprising: a settingunit configured to set an item selected by a user out of a plurality ofitems as an item to be displayed on a customized screen; a displaycontrol unit configured to control to display a predetermined item on amenu screen and display the item set by the setting unit on thecustomized screen; and a control unit configured to control to, in acase in which a specific item to execute a specific function displayedon the menu screen is selected, and an execution instruction operationis performed, display an execution confirmation screen of the specificfunction, and when execution is instructed on the execution confirmationscreen, execute the specific function, and in a case in which thespecific item displayed on the customized screen is selected, and theexecution instruction operation is performed, execute the specificfunction without displaying the execution confirmation screen.

According to other aspect of the present invention, there is provided acontrol method of an electronic device, comprising: setting an itemselected by a user out of a plurality of items as an item to bedisplayed on a customized screen; controlling to display a predetermineditem on a menu screen and display the item set in the setting on thecustomized screen; and controlling to, in a case in which a specificitem to execute a specific function displayed on the menu screen isselected, and an execution instruction operation is performed, displayan execution confirmation screen of the specific function, and whenexecution is instructed on the execution confirmation screen, executethe specific function, and in a case in which the specific itemdisplayed on the customized screen is selected, and the executioninstruction operation is performed, execute the specific functionwithout displaying the execution confirmation screen.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are views showing the outer appearance of a digitalcamera according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware arrangement of thedigital camera according to the embodiment;

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are views showing an example of a setting screencapable of making settings at the time of shooting;

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C are views showing an example of an editing screenby a customization setting function;

FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C are views for explaining menu screens displayed byoperating a MENU button;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining layout editing processing by thecustomization setting function;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing setting item selection processing by thecustomization setting function;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing style selection processing by thecustomization setting function;

FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C are views showing examples of a setting itemselection screen and a style selection screen;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are views showing another example of the styleselection screen;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing object layout processing by thecustomization setting function;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are views for explaining an operation example ofobject layout processing;

FIGS. 13A and 13B are views for explaining an operation example ofobject layout processing;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing layout determination processing by thecustomization setting function;

FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C are views showing item IDs added to the layoutboxes of the editing screen;

FIGS. 16A, 16B, and 16C are views for explaining another operationexample of object layout processing;

FIGS. 17A, 17B, and 17C are views showing item IDs added to the layoutboxes of the editing screen;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing selection processing of a screen to bedisplayed by an INFO button;

FIG. 19 is a view showing an example of a screen used to do displayselection in screen selection processing;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining screen display switching by theINFO button and the operation in each screen;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining setting value change processingusing a setting screen;

FIGS. 22A, 22B, and 22C are views showing examples of a setting screenand a setting change screen;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing sub screen transition processing;

FIGS. 24A, 24B, and 24C are views showing examples of a sub screen;

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing dial operation processing;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing dial operation processing;

FIGS. 27A to 27D are views for explaining dial operation processing;

FIGS. 28A and 28B are flowcharts showing dial operation processing;

FIGS. 29A and 29B are views showing object examples of an exposurecompensation value and an AEB compensation value;

FIGS. 30A, 30B, and 30C are views showing examples of screens concerninginitialization and all deletion of the setting screen by thecustomization setting function; and

FIGS. 31A to 31E are views showing examples of screens when executingsensor cleaning and camera setting initialization.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are views showing the outer appearance of a digitalcamera as an example of an imaging apparatus according to the presentinvention. FIG. 1A is a perspective front view of a digital camera 100.FIG. 1B is a perspective rear view of the digital camera 100. Referringto FIGS. 1A and 1B, a display unit 28 is a display unit that is providedon the back surface of the camera and displays an image or various kindsof information. An extra-viewfinder display unit 43 is a display unitthat is provided on the upper surface of the camera and displays varioussetting values of the camera including a shutter speed and a stop. Ashutter button 61 is an operation unit used to input a shootinginstruction. A mode change switch 60 is an operation unit used to changevarious kinds of modes. A terminal cover 40 is a cover configured toprotect a connector (not shown) for, for example, a connection cablethat connects an external device and the digital camera 100.

A main electronic dial 71 is a rotary operation member included in anoperation unit 70 (FIG. 2). A setting value such as a shutter speed or astop can be changed by rotating the main electronic dial 71. A powerswitch 72 is an operation member that powers on/off the digital camera100. A sub electronic dial 73 is a rotary operation member that isincluded in the operation unit 70 and can, for example, move a selectionframe or feed an image. A cross key 74 is a key (4-way selector) that isincluded in the operation unit 70 and has upper, lower, left, and rightportions that can be pressed. An operation corresponding to the pressedportion of the cross key 74 can be performed. Note that a pointing stickmay be provided in place of or in addition to the cross key 74. A SETbutton 75 is a push button that is included in the operation unit 70 andmainly used to, for example, decide a selected item.

An LV button 76 is a button that is included in the operation unit 70and turns on/off live view (to be referred to as LV hereinafter) in astill image shooting mode. In a moving image shooting mode, the LVbutton 76 is used to instruct start or stop of moving image shooting(recording). An enlargement button 77 is an operation button that isincluded in the operation unit 70 and turns on/off an enlargement modein live view display of the shooting mode or changes the enlargementratio during the enlargement mode. In a reproduction mode, theenlargement button 77 functions as an enlargement button used to enlargea reproduced image and increase the enlargement ratio. A reductionbutton 78 is a button that is included in the operation unit 70 and usedto decrease the enlargement ratio of an enlarged reproduced image andreduce the displayed image. A reproduction button 79 is an operationbutton that is included in the operation unit 70 and switches betweenthe shooting mode and the reproduction mode. When the reproductionbutton 79 is pressed during the shooting mode, the mode shifts to thereproduction mode, and the latest one of images recorded in a recordingmedium 200 can be displayed on the display unit 28.

A quick return mirror 12 is moved up/down by an actuator (not shown)based on an instruction from a system control unit 50 (FIG. 2). Acommunication terminal 10 is a communication terminal used by thedigital camera 100 to communicate with the lens side (detachable). Aneyepiece viewfinder 16 is a look-in type viewfinder (to be referred toas a viewfinder 16 hereinafter) used to confirm the focus or compositionof an optical image of an object obtained through a lens unit 150 (FIG.2) by observing a focusing screen 13 (FIG. 2). A lid 202 is the lid of aslot used to store the recording medium 200 (FIG. 2). A grip portion 90is a holding portion of a shape that allows the user to easily hold thedigital camera 100 by the right hand.

A Q button 81 is an operation button that is included in the operationunit 70 and accepts a user operation in a customization function (to bedescribed later). A trash button 82 is an operation button that isincluded in the operation unit 70 and used by the user to instructdeletion of an image file or deletion of an object in a customizablesetting screen. An INFO button 83 is an operation button that isincluded in the operation unit 70 and used to switch the screendisplayed on the display unit 28. A MENU button 84 is an operationbutton used to make display on the display unit 28 transition to a menusscreen. Various functions are assigned to a multifunction button 85 inaccordance with the operation state of the digital camera 100.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the arrangement of thedigital camera 100 according to this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2,the lens unit 150 is a lens unit including an interchangeable shootinglens. Although a lens 103 normally includes a plurality of lenses, onlyone lens is simply illustrated here. A communication terminal 6 is acommunication terminal used by the lens unit 150 to communicate with theside of the digital camera 100. The communication terminal 10 is acommunication terminal used by the digital camera 100 to communicatewith the side of the lens unit 150. The lens unit 150 communicates withthe system control unit 50 via the communication terminals 6 and 10,controls a stop 1 by an internal lens system control circuit 4 via astop driving circuit 2, and displaces the position of the lens 103 viaan AF driving circuit 3, thereby attaining focus.

An AE sensor 17 measures the brightness of an object via the lens unit150. A focus detection unit 11 outputs defocus amount information to thesystem control unit 50. Based on the defocus amount information, thesystem control unit 50 controls the lens unit 150 and performs phasedifference AF. The quick return mirror 12 (to be referred to as themirror 12 hereinafter) is moved up/down by an actuator (not shown) basedon an instruction from the system control unit 50 at the time ofexposure, live view shooting, or moving image shooting. The mirror 12 isconfigured to switch a light beam that has entered from the lens 103 tothe side of the viewfinder 16 or the side of an imaging unit 22. In anormal state, the mirror 12 is arranged so as to reflect and guide thelight beam to the viewfinder 16. When performing shooting or live viewdisplay, the mirror 12 moves up and retracts from the light beam so asto guide the light beam to the imaging unit 22 (mirror up). The mirror12 includes a half mirror at the center so as to partially pass light.The mirror 12 partially passes the light beam and makes it enter thefocus detection unit 11 configured to detect focus.

The photographer can confirm the focus or composition of an opticalimage of an object obtained through the lens unit 150 by observing thefocusing screen 13 via a pentaprism 14 and the viewfinder 16. A shutter101 is a focal plane shutter capable of freely controlling the exposuretime of the imaging unit 22 under the control of the system control unit50. The imaging unit 22 is an image sensor formed from a CCD or CMOSelement that converts an optical image into an electrical signal. An A/Dconverter 23 converts an analog signal into a digital signal. The A/Dconverter 23 is used to convert an analog signal output from the imagingunit 22 into a digital signal.

An image processing unit 24 performs resize processing such aspredetermined pixel interpolation or reduction or color conversionprocessing for data from the A/D converter 23 or data from a memorycontrol unit 15. The image processing unit 24 performs predeterminedcalculation processing using captured image data, and the system controlunit 50 performs exposure control or distance measuring control based onthe obtained calculation result. AF (Auto Focus) processing, AE (AutoExposure) processing, and EF (Pre-Light Emission) processing of a TTL(Through The Lens) system are thus performed. The stop driving circuit 2also performs predetermined calculation processing using the capturedimage data, and performs AWB (Auto White Balance) processing of the TTLsystem based on the obtained calculation result.

Output data from the A/D converter 23 is directly written in a memory 32via the image processing unit 24 and the memory control unit 15 or viathe memory control unit 15. The memory 32 stores image data obtained bythe imaging unit 22 and converted by the A/D converter 23 into digitaldata or image data to be displayed on the display unit 28. The memory 32has a sufficient storage capacity to store a predetermined number ofstill images or a moving image and audio of a predetermined time. Thememory 32 also serves as an image display memory (video memory). A D/Aconverter 19 converts image display data stored in the memory 32 into ananalog signal and supplies it to the display unit 28. The display imagedata written in the memory 32 is thus displayed on the display unit 28via the D/A converter 19.

The display unit 28 performs display according to the analog signal fromthe D/A converter 19 on a display device such as an LCD. A digitalsignal temporarily A/D-converted by the A/D converter 23 and accumulatedin the memory 32 is converted into an analog signal by the D/A converter19 and sequentially transferred to and displayed on the display unit 28.The display unit 28 can thus function as an electronic viewfinder andperform live image display (live view display).

A frame (AF frame) indicating a distance measuring point at which autofocus is currently being performed, an object indicating the settingstate of the camera, or the like is displayed on an intra-viewfinderliquid crystal display unit 41 via an intra-viewfinder display unitdriving circuit 42. Various setting values of the camera including ashutter speed and a stop are displayed on the extra-viewfinder displayunit 43 via an extra-viewfinder display unit driving circuit 44.

A nonvolatile memory 56 is an electrically erasable/recordable memory,and for example, an EEPROM is used. The nonvolatile memory 56 storesconstants, a program, and the like for the operation of the systemcontrol unit 50. The program here is a program used to execute variouskinds of flowcharts to be described later in the embodiment.

The system control unit 50 controls the entire digital camera 100. Theprogram recorded in the above-described nonvolatile memory 56 isexecuted, thereby implementing each process of the embodiment to bedescribed later. A RAM is used as a system memory 52. The constants andvariables for the operation of the system control unit 50, the programread out from the nonvolatile memory 56, and the like are expanded onthe system memory 52. The system control unit 50 also controls thememory 32, the D/A converter 19, the display unit 28, and the like,thereby performing display control. A system timer 53 is a time countunit that measures time used for various kinds of control or the time ofan internal clock.

A mode change switch 60, a first shutter switch 62, a second shutterswitch 64, and the operation unit 70 are operation units configured toinput various kinds of operation instructions to the system control unit50. The mode change switch 60 changes the operation mode of the systemcontrol unit 50 to one of a still image recording mode, a moving imageshooting mode, a reproduction mode, and the like. Modes included in thestill image recording mode are an auto shooting mode, an auto scenedetermination mode, a manual mode, a stop priority mode (Av mode), and ashutter speed priority mode (Tv mode). Also included are various scenemodes that are shooting settings for shooting scenes, a program AE mode,a custom mode, and the like. The operation mode can directly be changedto one of these modes included in a menu button using the mode changeswitch 60. Alternatively, after display is temporarily changed to themenu button by the mode change switch 60, the operation may be changedto one of these modes included in the menu button using anotheroperation member. The moving image shooting mode may similarly include aplurality of modes.

The first shutter switch 62 is turned on halfway through the operationof the shutter button 61 provided on the digital camera 100, that is, bya so-called half stroke (shooting preparation instruction), andgenerates a first shutter switch signal SW1. Operations such as AF (AutoFocus) processing, AE (Auto Exposure) processing, AWB (Auto WhiteBalance) processing, and EF (Pre-Light Emission) processing are startedby the first shutter switch signal SW1. The second shutter switch 64 isturned on by completing the operation of the shutter button 61, that is,by a so-called full stroke (shooting instruction), and generates asecond shutter switch signal SW2. The system control unit 50 starts aseries of operations of shooting processing from signal read from theimaging unit 22 to image data write in the recording medium 200 by thesecond shutter switch signal SW2.

The operation members of the operation unit 70 are appropriatelyassigned functions for each scene by selectively operating various kindsof functional objects displayed on the display unit 28, and act asvarious kinds of function buttons. Examples of the function buttons arean end button, a return button, an image feed button, a jump button, anarrow-down button, and an attribute change button. For example, whenthe menu button is pressed, various settable menu screens are displayedon the display unit 28. The user can intuitively make various kinds ofsettings using the menu screens displayed on the display unit 28 and theupper, lower, left, and right buttons of the 4-way selector (cross key74) or the SET button 75.

The operation unit 70 includes various kinds of operation members eachserving as an input unit configured to accept a user operation. Theoperation unit 70 includes at least the shutter button 61, the mainelectronic dial 71, the power switch 72, the sub electronic dial 73, thecross key 74, and the SET button 75. The operation unit 70 also includesthe LV button 76, the enlargement button 77, the reduction button 78,the reproduction button 79, the Q button 81, the trash button 82, theINFO button 83, the MENU button 84, and the multifunction button 85.

A power supply control unit 80 is formed from a battery detectioncircuit, a DC/DC converter, a switch circuit that switches a block to beenergized, and the like, and detects the presence/absence of attachmentof a battery, the type of the battery, and the battery level. The powersupply control unit 80 controls the DC/DC converter based on thedetection result and an instruction from the system control unit 50 andsupplies a necessary voltage to the units including the recording medium200 for a necessary period.

A power supply unit 30 is formed from a primary battery such as analkali battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as an NiCdbattery, an NiMH battery, or an Li battery, an AC adapter, or the like.A recording medium I/F 18 is an interface to the recording medium 200such as a memory card or a hard disk. The recording medium 200 is arecording medium such as a memory card for recording a shot image, andis formed from a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like.

A communication unit 54 is connected wirelessly or using a cable andtransmits/receives a video signal or audio signal. The communicationunit 54 can also be connected to a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) orthe Internet. The communication unit 54 can transmit an image (includinga live image) captured by the imaging unit 22 or an image recorded inthe recording medium 200 and receive image data and various kinds ofinformation from an external device.

A posture detection unit 55 detects the posture of the digital camera100 with respect to the gravitational direction. It can be judged basedon the posture detected by the posture detection unit 55 whether animage shot by the imaging unit 22 is an image shot by the digital camera100 held horizontally or vertically. The system control unit 50 can adddirection information according to the posture detected by the posturedetection unit 55 to the image file of an image captured by the imagingunit 22 or record a rotated image. As the posture detection unit 55, anacceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, or the like is usable.

A customization setting function of customizing a shooting settingscreen (to be referred to as a setting screen hereinafter) used to dovarious kinds of settings in shooting of the digital camera 100according to the embodiment with the above-described arrangement and itsoperation method will be described next. In addition, control andoperation when changing various kinds of setting values using thesetting screen customized using the customization setting function willbe described.

The customization setting function is a function of customizing asetting screen that displays a list of a plurality of setting items usedto set parameters such as a shutter speed, exposure compensation, andwhite balance for shooting or instruct execution of a predeterminedfunction such as sensor cleaning. A plurality of objects correspondingto the setting items are displayed on the setting screen, as will bedescribed later with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C. The user can grasp thesetting state of the digital camera 100 by viewing the objects displayedon the setting screen and also change the setting value of a settingitem corresponding to an object selected on the setting screen. Hence,the user can quickly make settings on the setting screen. With thecustomization setting function, the user can select a setting item to bedisplayed on the setting screen as an object, select the display size ofeach object, and select the layout position of each object on thescreen. Note that the processing of each flowchart to be described belowis implemented by causing the system control unit 50 to execute aprogram stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 or a program expanded on thesystem memory 52.

FIGS. 3A to 3C are views showing an example of a setting screen 300customizable by the user using the customization setting functionaccording to this embodiment. The setting screen 300 is one of screensto be displayed on the display unit 28 by screen switching by theoperation of the INFO button 83 (to be described later). On the settingscreen 300 shown in FIG. 3A, the objects of setting items such as anf-number, a shutter speed, an ISO value, and an exposure compensationvalue are displayed. Each object indicates the current setting state ofa corresponding setting item. For example, an object 301 a is thesetting of the shutter speed, and indicates that the shutter speed isset to 1/8000 sec. Each object has a size (an integer multiple of alayout box) based on a layout box (to be described later) as a unit, andis laid out according to the layout box. The layout of the objects onthe setting screen can be changed by the customization function.

FIG. 3B shows an operation state when setting the ISO speed as anexample of the setting operation by the user using the setting screen300. When the Q button 81 is pressed, a cursor 311 movable by the useris displayed. The user can move the cursor 311 to the position of anobject 301 b corresponding to the setting item of ISO speed and thuschange the setting value of the ISO speed using the main electronic dial71 or the sub electronic dial 73. Note that at this time, a guidancearea 302 has an indication for the setting item (in this example, ISOspeed) corresponding to the object currently selected by the cursor 311.The cursor 311 moves among the positions where the objects exist inaccordance with a user operation. The size of the frame of the cursor311 changes in accordance with the size of the object. Details of thesetting operation will be described later. FIG. 3C shows a state inwhich an object 301 c for setting white balance is added to the settingscreen 300 by layout editing (to be described later in detail) of thesetting screen 300 by the customization setting function from the stateshown in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4A is a view showing an example of an editing screen 400 displayedin layout editing processing of editing the setting screen by thecustomization setting function as described above. When thecustomization setting function is activated in accordance with aprocedure to be described later, the editing screen 400 is displayed onthe display unit 28. The editing screen 400 shown in FIG. 4A correspondsto the setting screen 300 shown in FIG. 3A. Using the customizationsetting function of the digital camera 100, the user can select asetting item to be added, set the size of an object to be displayed onthe setting screen concerning the selected setting item and the way ofdisplaying the object, and decide the layout position. The user can thusdisplay the object of the desired setting item on the setting screen.

A layout box 401 is a unit (unit area) which has a predetermined sizeand in which an object corresponding to a setting item is laid out. Thelayout box 401 is displayed at a portion of the editing screen 400 bythe customization setting function where no object is laid out. Aplurality of layout boxes 401 are arranged on the screen. In the exampleof FIG. 4A, 4 boxes×6 boxes are arranged in the vertical and horizontaldirections. In the example of FIG. 4A, for example, the object 301 a asthe setting item of shutter speed has a size of 2×1 layout boxes (to bealso referred to as 2×1 hereinafter), and is laid out in the third boxfrom the left on the first column out of the plurality of layout boxeson the screen. Note that the layout box 401 is not displayed on thesetting screen 300 shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C. The way of arranging thelayout boxes and the number of layout boxes are not limited to theabove-described arrangement. The smaller the size of the layout box is,the higher the degree of freedom in the layout position or size of anobject becomes. The layout box may have the size of one pixel.

A cursor 411 is a frame indicator surrounding an object or the layoutbox 401, and indicates the current cursor position. When located on thelayout box 401 without an object, the cursor 411 has a sizecorresponding to one layout box 401. When the cursor 411 is located onthe layout box 401 with an object, its size changes depending on thedisplay size of the object. For example, in FIG. 4A, the cursor 411 islocated on an object 301 d having a size of 1×1, and has a sizecorresponding to one layout box 401. On the other hand, in FIG. 4B, thecursor 411 is located on the object 301 b having a size of 2×1, and hasa size of 2×1 (a size corresponding to two layout boxes 401). FIG. 4Cshows a state in which the cursor 411 is located on a layout box withoutan object.

An operation guide for the editing screen 400 is displayed in a guidancearea 402. The operation guide displays a set of operation contentsenabled in the state and an icon representing an operation memberassigned the operation. In the illustrated example, the set of the iconof the Q button 81 and the operation contents (new object addition) andthe set of the icon of the trash button 82 and the operation contents(object deletion) are displayed.

The operation of the customization setting function according to thisembodiment will be described next. Note that the customization settingfunction is activated by, for example, the following operation. First,the system control unit 50 displays a menu screen 500 as shown in FIG.5A on the display unit 28 in accordance with pressing of the MENU button84. When the user places a cursor 511 on the menu item “quick settingcustomization” by operating the cross key 74 and presses the SET button75, the system control unit 50 activates the customization settingfunction. When the customization setting function is activated, thesystem control unit 50 displays a menu screen 520 of quick settingcustomization as shown in FIG. 5B. When the user places the cursor 511on the menu item “start layout editing” on the menu screen 520 andpresses the SET button 75, the customization setting function displays aguide screen 540 as shown in FIG. 5C. The editing screen 400 as shown inFIG. 4A is displayed in accordance with pressing of the SET button 75,and layout editing processing that allows the user to change the settingitems starts. Note that display of the guide screen 540 shown in FIG. 5Cmay be omitted.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining layout editing processing by thecustomization setting function, which is activated by theabove-described operation (selection of “start layout editing” on themenu screen 500). When layout editing processing starts, the systemcontrol unit 50 displays the editing screen 400 used to change theobjects to be displayed on the setting screen (step S601). If objectsalready laid out exist when starting display of the editing screen 400,the system control unit 50 reads out them from the nonvolatile memory 56and thus forms the editing screen. For example, if the setting screen300 as shown in FIG. 3A is already formed, the system control unit 50reads out the objects included in the setting screen 300 and forms theediting screen 400. As a result, the editing screen 400 shown in FIG. 4Ais displayed.

Next, the system control unit 50 judges whether a cursor movinginstruction (for example, an instruction by the cross key 74) is issuedby the operation unit 70 (step S602). If a cursor moving instruction isissued, the system control unit 50 moves the cursor 411 in the directiondesignated by the cursor moving instruction (step S603). As describedabove, the cursor 411 moves based on the layout box 401 as a unit if noobject is laid out. If an object is laid out, the cursor 411 moves basedon the size of the object as a unit. The size of the cursor 411 complieswith the size of the layout box or the size of the object.

Upon judging that the trash button 82 of the operation unit 70 ispressed (step S604), the system control unit 50 judges whether an objectexists at the position (cursor position) of the cursor 411 (step S605).If an object exists at the cursor position, the display of the object isdeleted (step S606). For example, when the user moves the cursor 411 tothe object 301 b as the setting item of ISO, as shown in FIG. 4B, andpresses the trash button 82, the object 301 b at the cursor position isdeleted, and the state shown in FIG. 4C is obtained. When an object isdeleted, the system control unit 50 stores, in the nonvolatile memory56, the item updating on the screen of customization setting for thesetting item at the time of shooting (step S606).

Upon judging that the Q button 81 is pressed (step S607), the systemcontrol unit 50 starts setting item selection processing of selecting asetting item to be additionally displayed as an object (step S608).Setting item selection processing in step S608 will be described laterwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7.

Upon judging that the SET button 75 is pressed (step S609), the systemcontrol unit 50 judges whether an object exists at the position of thecursor 411 (step S610). Upon judging that no object exists at theposition of the cursor 411 (that is, if the cursor 411 is located on afree layout box), setting item selection processing (FIG. 7) of addingan object to the setting screen starts (step S611). On the other hand,if an object exists under the cursor 411, the system control unit 50starts object layout processing (step S612). In the object layoutprocessing, the user can move the object exiting under the cursor 411 toan arbitrary position and lay out it. The object layout processing willbe described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 11.

For example, if the SET button 75 is pressed in a state in which thecursor 411 exists on a layout box without an object, as shown in FIG.4C, setting item selection processing starts (steps S609, S610, andS611). If the SET button 75 is pressed in a state in which an object (inthis example, the object 301 b representing ISO speed setting) exists atthe cursor position, as shown in FIG. 4B, the system control unit 50starts object layout processing (steps S609, S610, and S612). Byexecuting the object layout processing, the user can change the positionof the object 301 b.

Upon judging that the MENU button 84 is pressed (step S613), the systemcontrol unit 50 ends the layout editing processing and displays the menuscreen 520 for shift to layout editing processing shown in FIG. 5B (stepS614). Upon detecting an end operation of layout editing processing, thelayout editing processing ends (step S615). For example, upon detectingON of the first shutter switch 62 of the shutter button 61, the systemcontrol unit 50 ends the layout editing processing and causes thedigital camera 100 to transition to a shooting operation. The camerathus shifts to a shooting standby state. If a shooting function settingscreen (custom) (to be described later) was displayed in the shootingstandby state before the start of layout editing processing, theshooting function setting screen (custom) is displayed again (forexample, display shown in FIG. 3A). Note that when the layout editingprocessing ends, and the camera shifts to the shooting standby state,the shooting function setting screen (custom) may be displayedindependently of the screen displayed in the shooting standby statebefore the start of layout editing processing. That is, the shootingfunction setting screen (custom) may be displayed independently of whichone of the screens that can selectively be displayed every time the INFObutton 83 (to be described later with reference to FIG. 19) is pressedwas displayed. This allows the user to confirm how the result of layoutediting processing is reflected on the shooting function setting screen(custom).

Setting item selection processing that starts in step S608 or S611described above will be described next with reference to the flowchartof FIG. 7. In setting item selection processing, the user can select asetting item to be displayed on the setting screen as an object andselect the display style of the object corresponding to the selectedsetting item.

First, the system control unit 50 displays, on the display unit 28, asetting item selection screen used to select a setting item to bedisplayed as an object (step S701). This screen causes the user toselect a setting item to be newly laid out as an object on thecustomizable setting screen. FIG. 9A is a view showing a display exampleof a setting item selection screen 900 according to this embodiment. Onthe setting item selection screen 900, the user can move a cursor 901 inthe vertical direction by operating the cross key 74 and select adesired setting item. A setting item 902 (exposure compensation/AEB) isan item that is already laid out as an object on the customizablesetting screen. Hence, the setting item 902 is grayed out and istherefore unselectable on this screen. However, if a plurality ofobjects of the same setting item can selectively be laid out on onesetting screen, the setting item is not grayed out and is thereforeselectable on the setting item selection screen 900. A setting item 903(white balance) is an item whose corresponding object can newly be laidout on the setting screen. Note that the setting items 902 and 903 areexplicitly shown by displaying the names. However, the present inventionis not limited to this, and, for example, icon expression usingcharacters may be used.

Upon judging that a cursor moving instruction (for example, a verticaldesignation operation by the cross key 74) is issued by the operationunit 70 (step S702), the system control unit 50 moves the cursor 901 inthe designated direction (step S703). Note that if the setting item ofthe moving destination is grayed out at this time (if the setting itemis unselectable), the cursor may skip the item and move to the nextselectable item. For example, if a cursor moving instruction to thelower side is issued in the state shown in FIG. 9A, the cursor 901 mayskip the setting item 902 of exposure compensation/AEB and move to thesetting item of recording quality. Upon judging that the MENU button 84is pressed (step S704), the system control unit 50 returns to theimmediately preceding screen (step S705). Here, the screen transitionsto the screen before the transition to the setting item selectionscreen, that is, the editing screen (step S601).

Upon judging that the SET button 75 is pressed (step S706), the systemcontrol unit 50 judges whether the setting item at the cursor positionof the cursor 901 has a plurality of styles (step S707). Upon judgingthat the setting item does not have a plurality of styles, the systemcontrol unit 50 returns the screen to the editing screen 400, and laysout the object corresponding to the setting item at the position of thecursor 411 (step S710). The system control unit 50 then starts objectlayout processing of laying out and determining the object on thesetting screen (step S711). Object layout processing will be describedlater with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 11. On the other hand, ifthe setting item has a plurality of styles, the system control unit 50starts style selection processing (step S708). Style selectionprocessing will be described later with reference to the flowchart ofFIG. 8. Upon detecting an end operation of setting item selectionprocessing, the system control unit 50 ends the processing (step S709).For example, when the first shutter switch 62 of the shutter button 61is turned on, the system control unit 50 ends the setting item selectionprocessing. This processing is the same as that in a case in which stepS615 described above results in a “YES”.

Style selection processing executed in step S708 described above will bedescribed next with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 8. When styleselection processing starts, the system control unit 50 displays a styleselection screen first (step S801). FIGS. 9B and 9C show an example ofthe style selection screen. Here, a style selection screen 920 in a casein which the setting item is white balance is shown. If the cursor 901is moved to the setting item 903 of white balance on the setting itemselection screen 900 shown in FIG. 9A, and the SET button 75 is pressedin this state, the style selection screen 920 concerning the whitebalance is displayed. On the style selection screen, the user can selectthe display size of the object to be laid out on the customized settingscreen or the way of displaying information in the object (these willgenerically be referred to a style hereinafter).

On the style selection screen 920, the name of the setting item as thestyle selection target is displayed in a setting item name display 921.A cursor 922 is moved by, for example, a vertical operation of the crosskey 74, whereby the user selects the display size. An objectcorresponding to the display size currently selected by the cursor 922is displayed in a style display 923. When the style (display size)selected by the cursor 922 is changed from “1×1” shown in FIG. 9B to“2×1”, as shown in FIG. 9C, the object displayed in the style display923 also changes accordingly. As is apparent from FIGS. 9B and 9C, anobject expresses a different information amount depending on the displaysize. For example, when setting white balance by a color temperature,the object having the display size of 1×1 is too small to display thevalue of the color temperature, and the temperature value is notdisplayed. However, when the display size is changed to 2×1, as shown inFIG. 9C, the color temperature setting value of white balance can bedisplayed simultaneously. Additionally, in the object having the displaysize of 1×1, the user can set the type of white balance such as auto,preset (fine, cloudy, lamp, or the like), or color temperaturedesignation but cannot change the setting value of the colortemperature, as will be described later. On the other hand, in thedisplay size of 2×1, when color temperature designation is selected, thecolor temperature can be set. The user can select a desired object forone selected item in consideration of the balance between the displaysize of the object and the information amount handled by the object.

As described above, when style selection processing starts, the systemcontrol unit 50 displays the style selection screen 920 as shown in FIG.9B or 9C, and presents display styles selectable for the objectcorresponding to the selected setting item. Upon judging that a cursormoving instruction by the vertical operation of the cross key 74 isissued (step S802), the system control unit 50 moves the cursor 922 inthe direction of the moving instruction (step S803). Note that the styledisplay 923 shows all pieces of information displayable by the object ofthe display size. For example, the style display 923 of colortemperature shown in FIG. 9C presents the displayable number of digitsby displaying the maximum value of settable Kelvin values.Alternatively, for example, as shown in FIG. 29B, when displaying thestyle of an object 2931 of a light control compensation value, an item2933 is displayed regardless of the presence/absence of an externalflash. A light control compensation value 2934 shows a + or − signtogether with its maximum value.

Upon judging that the SET button 75 is pressed (step S804), the systemcontrol unit 50 returns the screen to the editing screen described withreference to FIGS. 4A to 4C, and lays out the selected object at theposition of the cursor 411 (step S805). The system control unit 50 thenstarts object layout processing of laying out and determining, on thesetting screen, the object of the display size currently selected by thecursor 922 (step S806). Object layout processing will be described laterwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 11. Upon detecting pressing ofthe MENU button 84 (step S807), the system control unit 50 makes ascreen transition to return to the immediately preceding screen (stepS808). Here, the screen returns to the screen before the transition tothe style selection screen 920, that is, the setting item selectionscreen 900 (step S701). Upon judging that an end operation of styleselection processing has occurred (step S809), the system control unit50 ends the style selection processing. On the other hand, Upon judgingthat the end operation has not occurred, the process returns to stepS802. For example, when the first shutter switch 62 of the shutterbutton 61 is turned on, the system control unit 50 ends the styleselection processing. This processing is the same as that in a case inwhich step S615 described above results in a “YES”.

Concerning the style selection, another setting item will be described.FIGS. 10A and 10B are views showing an example of the style selectionscreen that is displayed when the setting item of AF frame (notillustrated in FIGS. 9A to 9C) is selected on the setting item selectionscreen 900. When the setting item is AF frame, the corresponding objecthas two display styles (sizes) “1×1” and “3×2”. Referring to FIG. 10A,“AF frame” as the style selection target is displayed in a setting itemname display 1001 of a style selection screen 1000. The user can select“1×1” or “3×2” as the display style of the AF frame by moving a cursor1002. An object corresponding to the display size selected by the cursor1002 is displayed in a style display 1003. FIG. 10A shows a state inwhich the cursor 1002 selects the display size “1×1”.

When the cursor 1002 is moved to the display size “3×2”, as shown inFIG. 10B, an example of the object corresponding to the display size“3×2” is displayed in the style display 1003. The information of theexpressed setting value changes depending on the display size. That is,in the display size “1×1”, an object representing a setting value bydistance measuring area selection of an AF frame is displayed. In thedisplay size “3×2”, an object representing a setting value by distancemeasuring area selection and distance measuring point selection of an AFframe is displayed.

Object layout processing that is started and executed in step S612,S710, or S805 will be described next with reference to the flowchart ofFIG. 11. In object layout processing, the user can move the object atthe cursor position of the cursor 411 to an arbitrary position by themoving operation of the cursor 411, and lay out the object at the cursorposition by pressing the SET button 75. When the object layoutprocessing is activated from the above-described setting item selectionprocessing or style selection processing, an object corresponding to thesetting item selected on the setting item selection screen 900 andhaving the style selected on the style selection screen 920 or 1000 islaid out on the editing screen 400. The object is laid out at anarbitrary position by a user operation, as will be described later.

When object layout processing starts, the system control unit 50 setsthe object at the position of the cursor 411 on the editing screen 400in a held state (step S1101), and starts blinking the object in the heldstate (step S1102). For example, when the SET button 75 is pressed onthe editing screen 400 in a state shown in FIG. 12A (steps S609 andS610), an object 1201 at the cursor position on the editing screen 400is set in the held state. In this embodiment, to indicate the heldstate, a cursor 1211 having the indicators of movable directions isdisplayed, as shown in FIG. 12B. The held object is an operation targetobject of object layout processing.

In a case in which the cursor 411 is moved to the layout box at thelower left corner on the editing screen 400 shown in FIG. 4A, and theobject having the display size of 1×1 corresponding to white balance isselected by setting item selection processing as well, the display shownin FIG. 12B is obtained. That is, when “white balance” is selected onthe setting item selection screen 900 shown in FIG. 9A, the style “1×1”is selected on the style selection screen 920 shown in FIG. 9B, and theSET button 75 is pressed, the display shown in FIG. 12B is obtained. Thedisplay position of the new object is the position of the cursor 411immediately before the start of setting item selection processing. Thatis, the object of the setting item selected on the setting itemselection screen 900 automatically becomes the operation target objectwhen the object layout processing is activated.

When the object is being held by the cursor 1211 indicating the heldstate, the system control unit 50 blinks the held object, and changesthe display contents of the guidance area 402 as shown in FIG. 12B. Theguidance area 402 shows that the layout is determined by the SET button75 (steps S1112 and S1113), and style selection processing can bestarted by the INFO button 83 to change the size of the object (stepsS1110 and S1111). Note that the cursor 1211 is a cursor frame holding anobject. To explicitly indicate that the cursor is holding the object,the cursor has direction indicators to movable directions. The cursor1211 may also blink at the same time as the blinking of the object.

In this embodiment, if there is an existing object that at leastpartially overlaps the display range of the object, the display form ischanged (step S1103). In this embodiment, the display form is changed togray display that displays the object in grayscale. When the object inthe held state is blinked, and the overlapping existing object isdisplayed in gray, the object already laid out at the cursor positionand its setting item and the object to be deleted by laying out theobject in the held state can explicitly be shown to the user. That is,since the object to be newly laid out blinks, the object to be deletedis visible as a whole during the period in which the object to be newlylaid out is not showing up. Such display allows the user to immediatelygrasp the object to be newly laid out and the object to be deletedaccordingly. Note that the display form that makes both the object inthe held state and the existing object visible is not limited to theabove-described blinking. For example, the held object may be displayedin a semitransparent state, or a warning message may be displayed. Asthe display form to explicitly show the object to be deleted, an examplein which the object is displayed in gray has been described. However,the present invention is not limited to this. Discrimination from thenormal display state may be attained by, for example, lowering thedisplay brightness.

Upon detecting an instruction in the vertical and horizontal directionsby the cross key 74 (step S1104), the system control unit 50 moves thecursor 1211 and the object held by it in the direction of the movinginstruction (step S1105). That is, the moving instruction for the cursoralso serves as the moving instruction for the operation target object.In the object layout processing, the cursor 1211 and the object aremoved in accordance with the cursor moving instruction based on thelayout box as a unit independently of the presence/absence of anexisting object. For example, when an instruction to move rightward isdetected in the display state shown in FIG. 12B, the cursor 1211 and theheld object 1201 move rightward by one layout box, as shown in FIG. 13A.Note that the cursor moves based on the layout box as a unit on theediting screen. On the setting screen (for example, the setting screen300 shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C), however, the cursor moves among theobjects laid out on the screen.

Next, in a case in which another object is already laid out at thecursor position of the moved cursor 1211, if there is an existing objectthat at least partially overlaps the display range of the object, thesystem control unit 50 changes the display form (step S1106). Thisprocessing is the same as that in step S1103. As described above, inthis embodiment, the system control unit 50 changes the existing objectto gray display, and displays a warning message representing that in theguidance area 402. When the object in the held state moves, and theexisting object wholly falls outside the display range of the object inthe held state, the display form of the object is returned from thechanged state (gray display) to the original state (step S1107). Asdescribed above, the cursor 1211 and the object held by it blink, andthe display form of the already assigned object is changed. When theheld object is not showing up, the object that exists under it isvisible. For this reason, the user can immediately recognize whether anoverlapping object exists at the moving destination, and if so, thecontents of the setting item and the object (setting item) to be deletedby laying out the new object.

For example, in the example of FIG. 13A, when the cursor 1211 is moved,an object 1311 corresponding to another setting item “ONE SHOT” existswithin the display range of the object 1201. Hence, the existing object1311 is displayed in gray, and a warning message “the item located belowwill be deleted” is displayed in the guidance area 402. Since the heldobject 1201 blinks, the user can observe the entire existing object 1311during the period in which the object 1201 is not showing up. Note thatwhen the cursor 1211 moves leftward from the state shown in FIG. 13A,the state shown in FIG. 12B is obtained. The system control unit 50returns the display of the object 1311 that has wholly fallen outsidethe display range of the object 1201 from gray display to normaldisplay.

Upon detecting pressing of the MENU button 84 (step S1108), the systemcontrol unit 50 makes a screen transition to return to the immediatelypreceding screen (step S1109). For example, if the object layoutprocessing has started from the editing screen 400 (step S612 of FIG.6), the screen returns to the editing screen 400 according to thepressing of the MENU button 84. Alternatively, if the transition to theobject layout screen has occurred from the setting item selection screenor the style selection screen (step S710 of FIG. 7 or step S805 of FIG.8), the screen returns to the setting item selection screen 900 or thestyle selection screen 920 or 1000.

Upon detecting pressing of the INFO button 83 (step S1110), the systemcontrol unit 50 makes a screen transition to the style selection screen920 or 1000 and resumes style selection processing shown in FIG. 8 (stepS1111). In this case, the setting item that should undergo the styleselection processing is the setting item corresponding to the objectcurrently held by the cursor. For example, when the INFO button 83 ispressed in the state shown in FIG. 12B, the style selection screen 920(FIG. 9B) for white balance is displayed. Upon detecting pressing of theSET button 75 (step S1112), the system control unit 50 starts processing(layout determination processing) of determining the layout of theselected setting item at the current cursor position (step S1113). Thatis, the pressing of the SET button 75 is a determination instruction todetermine the layout of the held object. Layout determination processingwill be described later with reference to FIG. 14. For example, assumethat the SET button 75 is pressed in the state shown in FIG. 13A toexecute layout determination processing. In this case, the systemcontrol unit 50 determines the layout of the object 1201 held by thecursor 1211 at the current cursor position, and returns the cursor tothe cursor 411 without direction indicators, as shown in FIG. 13B. Inaddition, the existing object 1311 laid out while at least partiallyoverlapping the object 1201 newly laid out is deleted from the screen.

Upon detecting an end operation of object layout processing, the systemcontrol unit 50 ends the processing (step S1114). If the end operationis not detected, the process returns to step S1104. For example, whenthe first shutter switch 62 of the shutter button 61 is turned on, thesystem control unit 50 ends the object layout processing.

Layout determination processing according to this embodiment will bedescribed next with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 14. In layoutdetermination processing, the object currently held by the cursor 1211is laid out in the layout box corresponding to the current position ofthe cursor 1211, and the display position is determined. At this time,as described above, if there is an existing object laid out in thelayout box included in the display range of the layout destination ofthe object, the existing object is overwritten with the new setting itemand deleted.

When layout determination processing starts, the system control unit 50selects one of layout boxes within the display range used by the objectcurrently held by the cursor 1211 (step S1401). In the examples shown inFIGS. 12B and 13A, the display size of the object held by the cursor1211 is one layout box (1×1), and only one layout box exists in thedisplay range of the object. On the other hand, for an object that uses,for example, 3×1 layout boxes as the display size, three layout boxesexist in the display range of the object.

Next, to judge whether the selected layout box is used by an existingobject, the system control unit 50 acquires the item ID of the layoutbox from the nonvolatile memory 56 (step S1402). For example, when theobjects are laid out as shown in FIG. 12B, an item ID for identifyingthe setting item of an object laid out is added to each layout box, asshown in FIG. 15A. An item ID “Unknown” is added to a layout box withoutan object. In FIG. 12B, the cursor 1211 that holds the object 1201 ofwhite balance is located on the layout box at the lower left corner. InFIG. 15A, a display range 1501 is indicated by a broken rectangle.

The system control unit 50 judges whether the item ID of the selectedlayout box is “Unknown” (step S1403). If the item ID is “Unknown”, thesystem control unit 50 judges whether an unprocessed layout box existsin the display range to be used by the object (the object to be newlylaid out) held in the cursor frame (step S1406). If an unprocessedlayout box exists, the system control unit 50 selects the next layoutbox as the processing target (step S1407), and returns the process tostep S1402. On the other hand, if the processing has ended for alllayout boxes to be used by the setting item to be newly laid out, thesystem control unit 50 lays out the currently held object at the currentcursor position (step S1408). At this time, the system control unit 50adds an item ID for identifying the setting item (and display style) ofthe object to each layout box in the display range of the object, andrecords the item ID in the nonvolatile memory 56. The system controlunit 50 then cancels blinking of the object laid out, and deletes theobject laid out in the layout boxes with the item ID “Unknown” In thisway, an object of a type arbitrarily selected by the user is laid out(located) at a position selected by the user in a size set by the user.

In the example of FIG. 15A, one layout box is included in the displayrange of the object to be newly laid out, and the item ID of the layoutbox is “Unknown”. Hence, when the SET button 75 is pressed in the stateshown in FIG. 12A, “WB1” representing white balance with a display sizeof 1×1 is immediately added as an item ID to the layout box at the lowerleft corner, and the layout of the object 1201 is determined. As aresult, a setting screen as shown in FIG. 3C is obtained.

On the other hand, in a case in which the cursor frame is moved to theposition shown in FIG. 13A, and the SET button 75 is pressed in thisstate, a layout box 1511 with an item ID representing AF mode alreadyexists in the display range 1501 of the object to be newly laid out, asshown in FIG. 15B. If the item ID acquired in step S1402 is not“Unknown” (NO in step S1403), the system control unit 50 searches alllayout boxes in the editing screen for layout boxes with the item IDacquired in step S1402 (step S1404). The system control unit 50 changesthe item ID of the found layout boxes to “Unknown” (step S1405). Forexample, in the case of FIG. 15B, since an item ID “Af Model” isacquired (step S1402), the system control unit 50 searches all layoutboxes for layout boxes with the item ID “Af Model”. The system controlunit 50 then changes the item ID of the found layout boxes to “Unknown”.As a result, the item ID of the layout boxes 1511 and 1512 with the itemID “Af Model” is changed to “Unknown”.

When the above-described processing is executed for all layout boxeswithin the display range of the object to be newly laid out, the processadvances from step S1406 to step S1408, and the system control unit 50lays out the currently held object at the current cursor position andadds an item ID. In the case of FIG. 15B, the item ID of the layoutboxes 1511 and 1512 is first changed to “Unknown” (step S1405). Afterthat, an item ID “WB1” is added to the layout box 1511 (step S1408). Asa result, the item IDs are added to the layout boxes 1511 and 1512, asshown in FIG. 15C, and the layout is completed as shown in FIG. 13B.Note that each layout box with the item ID “Unknown” is released fromthe state with the object being laid out, and display of the object isdeleted. In this way, when newly laying out an object, all existingobjects that are going to share at least some of layout boxes to be usedby the object to be newly laid out are deleted.

Concerning layout processing, a case in which the display size of thesetting item to be newly laid out is 1×1 layout box has been describedabove with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 14. For a betterunderstanding of the layout determination processing according to thisembodiment, a case in which the layout of area/date/time display that isa setting item having a display size of 4×2 layout boxes is determinedwill be described with reference to FIGS. 16A, 16B, 17A, and 17B.

FIGS. 16A and 16B show examples of display on the display unit 28 whenthe items of f-number and AF operation are already laid out andoverwritten with area/date/time display. FIG. 16A shows the layoutstates of objects already laid out on the screen of object layoutprocessing. An object 1601 corresponds to the setting item of theshooting mode of the camera, an object 1602 corresponds to the settingitem of the f-number, and an object 1603 corresponds to the setting itemof AF operation.

FIG. 16B shows a display example in a state in which to newly lay out anobject 1604 of area/date/time display, the layout position of the object1604 is set in the object layout shown in FIG. 16A. In FIG. 16B, theobject 1602 of f-number and the object 1603 of AF operation overlap thedisplay range of the object 1604 to be newly laid out. That is, displayof the existing object 1603 (AF operation) partially overlaps the object1604, and the existing object 1602 (f-number) wholly overlaps the object1604. Note that a cursor 1606 has direction indicators representing thatit is holding the object 1604.

FIG. 16C shows a state after the object 1604 (area/date/time display) islaid out in the layout of setting items shown in FIG. 16A. FIG. 16Cshows a state in which layout of the object 1604 is completed, and thecursor 1606 is deleted. In addition, when the object 1604 is laid out,display of the object 1603 (AF operation) is deleted, and a layout box1607 is displayed.

FIGS. 17A to 17C are views in which item IDs representing the settingitems of the objects laid out in the layout boxes are associated withthe layout states of the objects shown in FIGS. 16A to 16C. FIG. 17Ashows the item IDs of the layout boxes in the state shown in FIG. 16A. Adisplay range 1701 of the object 1604 to be newly laid out indicates theoverwrite range of the object 1604 to be newly laid out. In thisexample, the display size of the object 1604 is 4×2, and 4×2 layoutboxes are included in the display range 1701.

In accordance with pressing of the SET button 75, the system controlunit 50 selects one of the layout boxes (4×2 layout boxes) included inthe display range 1701 (step S1401), and acquires the item ID (stepsS1401 and S1402). For example, a layout box 1711 is selected. Since theitem ID is “Unknown”, the next layout box is immediately selected as theprocessing target (steps S1403, S1406, and S1407).

When a layout box 1712 is selected as the processing target in stepS1401, “Av1” is acquired as the item ID. Hence, layout boxes with theitem ID “Av1” are searched from all layout boxes in the editing screen,and the item ID of the found layout boxes is changed to “Unknown” (stepsS1403, S1404, and S1405). In the example of FIG. 17A, the item ID of thelayout box 1712 having the item ID “Av1” is changed to “Unknown”.

When a layout box 1713 is selected as the processing target in stepS1401, “Af Model” is acquired as the item ID. Hence, layout boxes withthe item ID “Af Model” are searched from all layout boxes in the editingscreen, and the item ID of the layout boxes is changed to “Unknown”(steps S1403, S1404, and S1405). In the illustrated example, the item IDof the layout boxes 1713 and 1714 is changed to “Unknown”. Display ofthe objects 1602 and 1603 whose layout boxes are changed to “Unknown”are deleted.

When the above-described processing has ended for all layout boxeswithin the display range 1701 where overwrite is performed (step S1406),a state in which the item IDs are added to the layout boxes as shown inFIG. 17B is obtained. With the above-described processing, the item IDsof the layout boxes 1712 to 1714 are changed to “Unknown”. After that,the system control unit 50 adds “Area Date1” that is the item ID of theobject 1604 (area/date/time display) to all layout boxes within thedisplay range 1701, and determines the layout of the object 1604. Thesystem control unit 50 then cancels the blinking state of the object1604, and completes overwrite and deletion (step S1408).

With the above-described processing, the item (FIG. 17B) that is therest of display of the existing object 1603 can also be deleted as adeletion target by overwrite (FIG. 17C). That is, even if the userarbitrarily sets the size and layout position of an object already laidout and the size and layout position of an object to be additionallylaid out, overwrite processing by the object to be additionally laid outcan be performed without leaving unnecessary display.

Note that in the above-described processing, an existing object isoverwritten with an object to be newly laid out and thus deleted.However, a specific object may be prohibited from being overwritten. Forexample, the shutter speed or exposure value may be set in advance as aspecific object prohibited from being overwritten. Alternatively, theuser may give an attribute to prohibit overwrite to a desired settingitem and set a corresponding object as a specific object prohibited frombeing overwritten. The cursor that holds an object and moves may skip alayout box used by an object prohibited from being overwritten so thedisplay range of the layout target object and that of the objectprohibited from being overwritten do not overlap. This prohibits theoperation target object from moving to a position where the specificobject is overwritten and deleted. Otherwise, if the layout targetobject has moved to a position where the display range of the operationtarget object at least partially overlaps the display range of an objectprohibited from being overwritten, a warning message for notifying thatthe layout cannot be determined may be displayed to prohibit layoutdetermination processing from being executed.

Processing of causing the user to set screens (including an existingshooting setting screen and the customizable setting screen 300) to bedisplayed upon screen display switching by the INFO button 83 will bedescribed next with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 18. On thedigital camera 100 according to this embodiment, when the INFO button 83is pressed in the shooting standby state, the screen displayed on thedisplay unit 28 is switched by each pressing operation. Using a displayselection screen 1900 shown in FIG. 19, the user can select a screen tobe included in the group of screens that are switched by operating theINFO button 83.

In accordance with pressing of the MENU button 84, the system controlunit 50 displays the menu screen 500 as shown in FIG. 5A on the displayunit 28. When the user selects a menu item “contents to be displayed bythe [INFO] button” by the cursor 511 on the menu screen 500, and pressesthe SET button 75 in this state, the system control unit 50 displays thedisplay selection screen 1900 as shown in FIG. 19 (step S1801). By thedisplay selection screen 1900, the user can select screens to besequentially displayed on the display unit 28 by operating the INFObutton 83.

As described above, the display selection screen 1900 shown in FIG. 19is a screen that causes the user to select and set a screen that isswitched and displayed every time the INFO button 83 is pressed in theshooting standby state. A selection item 1901 is an item representingone of screens displayable in the shooting standby state. The displayscreens displayable in the shooting standby state are

-   -   camera setting content screen: a screen for displaying the        setting contents of the camera    -   level display screen: a screen for displaying a level    -   shooting function setting screen: a shooting setting screen        capable of displaying and changing the setting state of the        shooting function    -   shooting function setting screen (custom): a shooting setting        screen (for example, the setting screen 300 shown in FIGS. 3A to        3C) capable of customizing setting items to be displayed and        their display styles.

Referring to FIG. 19, a checkbox 1902 is provided for each selectionitem 1901, and indicates the selected state or unselected state of acorresponding item by the presence/absence of a check mark. A cursor1903 moves in the vertical direction when the user operates the crosskey 74 in the vertical direction. When the SET button 75 is pressed, theselection item 1901 at the cursor position of the cursor 1903 isswitched between the selected state and the unselected state. A checkmark is added to the checkbox 1902 corresponding to a selection item inthe selected state. That is, the user can move the cursor 1903 todesired display and press the SET button 75, thereby adding a check markto the corresponding checkbox. The screen indicated by the selectionitem with the check mark in the checkbox can be displayed by pressingthe INFO button 83 to switch display in the shooting standby state. Ascreen example display 1904 displays the outline of the screencorresponding to the selection item at the position of the cursor 1903.

Upon receiving a cursor moving instruction by the vertical operation ofthe cross key 74 (step S1802), the system control unit 50 moves thecursor 1903 in the direction of the cursor moving instruction (stepS1803). The cursor 1903 moves to each selection item 1901, an OK button1905, and a cancel button 1906 in accordance with the cursor movinginstruction.

Upon detecting pressing of the SET button 75 (step S1804), the systemcontrol unit 50 judges whether the cursor 1903 is located on one of theselection items (step S1805). If the cursor is located on a selectionitem, the display state of the check mark in the checkbox of theselection item is updated (an item without a check mark is updated to achecked state, and an item with a check mark is updated to an uncheckedstate) (step S1806). On the other hand, if the cursor 1903 is notlocated on a selection item, the system control unit 50 judges whetherthe cursor is located on the OK button 1905 (step S1807). If the cursoris located on the OK button 1905, the system control unit 50 stores theselection item whose checkbox 1902 has a check mark (that is, aselection item in the checked state) in the nonvolatile memory 56 as aselected screen (step S1808).

If the cursor 1903 is located on the cancel button 1906 (step S1809),the system control unit 50 updates the check state of the checkbox basedon the contents stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 (step S1810). Hence,the user can place the cursor on the cancel button 1906 and press theSET button 75, thereby returning the check state of the checkbox 1902 tothe state stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 latest.

For example, upon detecting ON of the first shutter switch 62 of theshutter button 61, the system control unit 50 judges that an instructionto end the display selection screen is issued (step S1811), returns thedisplay on the display unit 28 to the menu screen 500 shown in FIG. 5A,and ends the processing. If the instruction to end the processing is notissued, the process returns to step S1802. Note that when the cursor islocated on the OK button 1905, and the SET button 75 is pressed in thisstate, the processing may end after reflecting the check state of thecheckbox. When the cursor is located on the cancel button 1906, and theSET button 75 is pressed in this state, the processing may end afterreturning the check state of the checkbox to the state before the startof the processing.

Screen switching in the shooting standby state and the operation on eachscreen will be described next with reference to the flowchart of FIG.20. Screen switching is done between display screens selected by addinga check mark to a checkbox on the above-described display selectionscreen 1900 (FIG. 19) every time the INFO button 83 is pressed.

When the shooting standby state starts, in accordance with pressing ofthe INFO button 83, the system control unit 50 switches display to oneof the display screens that are selected on the above-described displayselection screen 1900 and stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 (stepS2001). In this embodiment, the system control unit 50 displays adisplay screen selected from those displayed on the display selectionscreen 1900 as the choices of display screens in the shooting standbystate in accordance with pressing of the INFO button 83 as a toggle.Display screens selectable on the display selection screen 1900 are thecamera setting content screen, the level display screen, the shootingsetting screen, and the shooting function screen (customized). Anyscreen other than these screens may be selectable as the switchingdisplay target of the INFO button 83, as a matter of course.

Upon judging to display the camera setting content screen in accordancewith pressing of the INFO button 83 (step S2001), the system controlunit 50 forms the display screen by referring to the setting values ofthe device to be displayed on the camera setting content screen and thescreen composition in the nonvolatile memory 56 and displays the screen(step S2002). This screen is a screen corresponding to “contents ofcamera settings” on the display selection screen 1900. After that, thesystem control unit 50 judges whether the INFO button 83 is pressed(step S2003). Upon judging that the INFO button 83 is pressed, theprocess returns to step S2001 to judge the screen to be displayed next.If the INFO button 83 is not pressed, the system control unit 50 judgeswhether the shooting standby state has ended (step S2004). If theshooting standby state continues, the process returns to step S2003. Onthe other hand, if the shooting standby state has ended, the systemcontrol unit 50 ends the processing and makes a transition to anotherstate of the device such as a photometry state, a shooting start state,a MENU display state, a screen reproduction state, or a power-off state(step S2004). For example, the end of the shooting standby state isinstructed by turning on the first shutter switch 62, and the digitalcamera 100 shifts to the shooting start state. Alternatively, forexample, when the MENU button 84 is turned on, the digital camera 100ends the shooting standby state, and shifts to the MENU display state.

Upon judging to display the level screen in accordance with pressing ofthe INFO button 83 (step S2001), the system control unit 50 displays thelevel screen on the display unit 28 (step S2005). That is, the systemcontrol unit 50 acquires level data of the level of the device from theposture detection unit 55, forms the display screen by acquiringinformation for screen composition from the nonvolatile memory 56, anddisplays it on the display unit 28. This screen is a screencorresponding to “level” on the display selection screen 1900. After thelevel screen is displayed, the system control unit 50 periodicallyacquires level data from the posture detection unit 55 and updates thelevel display (step S2006). Upon judging that the INFO button 83 ispressed, the system control unit 50 returns the process to step S2001 tojudge the screen to be displayed next (step S2007). If the INFO button83 is not pressed, the system control unit 50 judges whether theshooting standby state has ended (step S2008). If the shooting standbystate continues, the system control unit 50 returns the process to stepS2006. Upon judging that the shooting standby state has ended, thesystem control unit 50 ends the shooting standby state and makes atransition to another state. Note that the processes of steps S2007 andS2008 are the same as in steps S2003 and S2004.

Upon judging to display the shooting setting screen in accordance withpressing of the INFO button 83 (step S2001), the system control unit 50forms the display screen by referring to the setting values of thedevice to be displayed on the shooting setting screen and the screencomposition in the nonvolatile memory 56 and displays the screen on thedisplay unit 28 (step S2009). This screen is a screen corresponding to“setting state of shooting function” on the display selection screen1900. On the shooting setting screen, the setting values of the deviceat the time of shooting are displayed by referring to the nonvolatilememory 56. When the setting screen display processing is completed, thesystem control unit 50 judges whether the Q button 81 is pressed (stepS2024). Upon judging that the Q button is pressed, the system controlunit 50 starts setting value change processing of enabling to change asetting value using the screen corresponding to “setting state ofshooting function” (step S2010). In setting value change processing, asetting value displayed on the shooting setting screen is changed inaccordance with an instruction to the operation unit 70, and the changedsetting value is saved in the nonvolatile memory 56 (step S2010). Thesetting value change processing will be described later with referenceto the flowchart of FIG. 21. The shooting setting screen is a screen onwhich objects for shooting settings are laid out in the same form as thecustomizable setting screen as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C. On the shootingsetting screen, however, the setting items to be displayed and the sizesand positions of the objects are determined in advance and cannot beedited (customized).

The system control unit 50 judges whether the INFO button 83 is pressed(step S2011). Upon judging that the INFO button 83 is pressed, theprocess returns to step S2001 to judge the screen to be displayed next.If the INFO button 83 is not pressed, the system control unit 50 judgeswhether the shooting standby state has ended (step S2012). If theshooting standby state continues, the process returns to step S2024.Upon judging that the shooting standby state has ended, the shootingstandby state is ended to transition to another state. The processes ofsteps S2011 and S2012 are the same as in steps S2003 and S2004.

Upon judging in step S2001 to display the shooting setting screen(customized), the system control unit 50 acquires the screen compositionof the customizable shooting setting screen and the setting values ofthe device from the nonvolatile memory 56, forms the display screen, anddisplays it on the display unit 28 (step S2013). This screen is a screencorresponding to “setting state (custom) of shooting function” on thedisplay selection screen 1900. The screen displayed here is acustomizable setting screen as described with reference to FIGS. 3A to3C. The operation and processing on the setting screen will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 22A to 22C. FIG. 22A shows an example of asetting screen 2200 layout-edited by the customization setting functionand displayed in step S2013. As described above, objects that form thecustomizable setting screen 2200 can arbitrarily be changed by the user.The user can also select the style used to display the objects of thesetting items.

When the setting screen display processing is completed, the systemcontrol unit 50 judges whether the Q button 81 is pressed (step S2014).Upon judging that the Q button is pressed, the system control unit 50starts setting value change processing of allowing the user to change asetting value using the setting screen 2200 (step S2017). Setting valuechange processing will be described later with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 21 and FIGS. 22B and 22C.

If pressing of the Q button is not detected in step S2014, the systemcontrol unit 50 judges whether the INFO button 83 is pressed (stepS2015). Upon judging that the INFO button 83 is pressed, the processreturns to step S2001 to judge the screen to be displayed next. If theINFO button 83 is not pressed, the system control unit 50 judges whetherthe shooting standby state has ended (step S2016). If the shootingstandby state continues, the system control unit 50 returns the processto step S2014. Upon judging that the shooting standby state has ended,the shooting standby state is ended to transition to another state. Notethat the processes of steps S2015 and S2016 are the same as in stepsS2003 and S2004.

Setting value change processing in step S2017 will be described next.FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining setting value change processing.First, the system control unit 50 changes display of the setting screen2200 to display of a screen (a setting change screen 2210 shown in FIG.22B) that explicitly shows that the setting value of a setting item canbe changed (step S2101). In this embodiment, as display representingthat a setting value can be changed, as shown in FIG. 22B, a cursor 2211used to designate a setting item as a setting change target isdisplayed, and the item name is displayed in a guidance area 2212. Notethat not only the name but also the setting state of the setting itemmay be displayed in the guidance area 2212. For example, in the guidancearea 2212, display representing that the setting state is “auto” is donein the guidance area 2212 shown in FIG. 22B in addition to the settingitem name “white balance”.

Next, the system control unit 50 judges whether a cursor movinginstruction is issued (step S2102). Upon judging that a cursor movinginstruction is issued, the system control unit 50 moves the cursor 2211on the screen in the designated direction (step S2103). The cursor 2211moves based on the above-described display size of each object as aunit, and skips a layout box without an object.

The system control unit 50 judges whether the SET button 75 is pressed(step S2104). Upon judging that the SET button 75 is pressed, the systemcontrol unit 50 executes sub screen transition processing (step S2105).On the sub screen, advanced settings can be done for the setting item ofan object selected by the cursor 2211. Sub screen transition processingwill be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 23.

The system control unit 50 also judges whether the setting itemcorresponding to the object at the cursor position can be changed by theelectronic dials (the main electronic dial 71 and the sub electronicdial 73) included in the operation unit 70 (step S2106) If the settingof the setting item can be changed by the electronic dials, the systemcontrol unit 50 executes electronic dial operation processing ofchanging the setting value in accordance with an electronic dialoperation (step S2107). The processing contents of the electronic dialoperation processing change depending on the setting item correspondingto the object at the cursor position, that is, the setting item tochange the setting value. Electronic dial operation processing will bedescribed later with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 25, 26, andthe like. If the setting item corresponding to the object at the cursorposition cannot be changed by the electronic dial operation, the systemcontrol unit 50 advances the process to step S2108 without executingelectronic dial operation processing.

Next, the system control unit 50 judges whether the INFO button 83 orthe Q button 81 is pressed (step S2108). If the INFO button 83 or the Qbutton 81 is pressed, the system control unit 50 cancels the settingvalue change state (step S2109), and ends the setting value changeprocessing. The system control unit 50 deletes the cursor 2211 from thesetting change screen 2210 in accordance with cancel of the settingvalue change state, updates display in the guidance area 2212, andreturns it to the display state as shown in FIG. 22A. For example, foran object indicating a photometric value, setting value display iscanceled, and the display is updated to an object indicating thephotometric value. If pressing of the INFO button or Q button is notdetected in step S2108, the process returns to step S2102.

Sub screen transition processing in step S2105 will be described nextwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 23. For the setting itemcorresponding to the object at the cursor position when the SET button75 is pressed in step S2104 of FIG. 21, the system control unit 50judges whether to immediately execute the function without executing subscreen display (step S2301). Upon judging to immediately execute thefunction of the setting item, the system control unit 50 immediatelyexecutes the function (step S2307), and ends the sub screen transitionprocessing. In the sub screen transition processing, a transition to asub screen does not always occur. Depending on the setting item, theprocessing (function) of the setting item is immediately executedwithout making a transition to a sub screen. Note that an example of thesetting item whose function is immediately executed without displaying asub screen is a sensor cleaning function, which will be described laterin detail.

Upon judging not to immediately execute the function of the setting itemin step S2301, the system control unit 50 judges, concerning the settingitem at the cursor position, whether to transition to a sub screen (stepS2302). Whether to transition to a sub screen can be judged by, forexample, judging for the target setting item whether “the setting itemis in a setting change enable state” or “a sub screen is prepared”. Forexample, when an aperture-priority automatic exposure mode is set, theshutter speed is automatically set in accordance with the set f-number.Hence, the setting of the shutter speed cannot be changed by a useroperation. In this case, it is judged that the shutter speed is in asetting change disable state, and it is judged not to transition to asub screen. For a setting item to set a shooting function, a sub screenused to set a desired state out of a plurality of choices or set anumerical value is prepared. Hence, for such a setting item, it isjudged to transition to sub screen display. Upon judging to transitionto a sub screen for the setting item corresponding to the objectselected by the cursor 2211 at the time of pressing of the SET button75, the system control unit 50 displays the sub screen of the settingitem selected by the cursor 2211 (step S2303). The system control unit50 accepts a setting operation of the user performed on the sub screen.Upon judging that a transition to a sub screen is impossible, the systemcontrol unit 50 ends the processing.

Next, the system control unit 50 judges whether the setting value can bechanged on the sub screen displayed in step S2303 (step S2304). Settingvalue change is possible on a sub screen to be described later withreference to FIGS. 24A to 24C. However, on a sub screen for camerainitialization to be described later with reference to FIGS. 31A to 31E,the user can select “cancel” or “OK (execute)” but cannot change thesetting value. If setting value change is possible on the displayed subscreen, the system control unit 50 accepts a change of the setting valueby the main electronic dial 71 or the sub electronic dial 73, andupdates the setting value (step S2305).

FIG. 24A is a view showing an example of a sub screen 2400 displayed instep S2303 and capable of changing a setting value. On the sub screen2400, a desired setting value can be selected and set out of a list ofsetting values changeable for the setting item at the cursor position.FIG. 24A shows the sub screen 2400 when the selected setting item iswhite balance. Types (to be referred to as first setting valueshereinafter) of white balance such as auto, preset (fine, cloudy, lamp,or the like), and color temperature designation are arranged in onedirection on the sub screen 2400. The system control unit 50 moves theposition of a cursor 2401 in accordance with the operation of the subelectronic dial 73 by the user and selects a desired setting value(type). When the cursor 2401 is placed on color temperature ([K]), asshown in FIG. 24A, a Kelvin value that is a dependent setting value ofcolor temperature (a setting value belonging to the first setting valueis called a second setting) is displayed. When the main electronic dial71 is operated in this state, the system control unit 50 changes(increases/decreases) the Kelvin value that is the dependent settingvalue of color temperature.

In FIG. 24A, the changed setting of white balance is stored in thenonvolatile memory 56 every time the cursor is moved, or the Kelvinvalue is changed. However, the present invention is not limited to this.Instead of storing the changed value in the nonvolatile memory 56according to movement of the cursor 2401 or the Kelvin value changeoperation, the changed setting value may be stored in the nonvolatilememory 56 upon judging that the SET button 75 is pressed in the subscreen display state. In this case, for example, guidance display 2402as shown in FIG. 24B may be done to explicitly indicate that the changedsetting is stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 in accordance withpressing of the SET button 75.

FIG. 24C shows a display example of a sub screen 2410 used to change thesetting value of AF frame selection. In setting of AF frame selection, afirst setting value (distance measuring area) and a second setting value(distance measuring point) can be set. In the composition of the subscreen 2410 shown in FIG. 24C, distance measuring area selection modesas the first setting values are arranged in one direction almost at thescreen center. Distance measuring point selection as the second settingvalue is displayed on the lower half of the screen. Details of thedistance measuring area selection mode as the first setting value of AFframe selection and distance measuring point selection as the secondsetting value will be described later.

Upon detecting an operation on the main electronic dial 71 duringdisplay of the sub screen 2410, the system control unit 50 moves apattern display 2412 indicating a distance measuring point to be set inthe horizontal direction to change the setting value of the distancemeasuring point selection. Upon detecting an operation on the subelectronic dial 73 during display of the sub screen 2410, the systemcontrol unit 50 moves the pattern display 2412 in the vertical directionto change the setting value of the distance measuring point selection.Upon detecting an operation on the multifunction button 85, the systemcontrol unit 50 moves a cursor 2411 to change the setting value of thedistance measuring area selection mode. That is, on the sub screen forAF frame selection setting, the multifunction button 85 is used tochange the first setting value (distance measuring area), and the mainelectronic dial 71 and the sub electronic dial 73 are used to change thesecond setting value (distance measuring point). The contents of thechanged setting values are stored in the nonvolatile memory 56.

Note that the relationship between the operation members and themovement of the pattern display 2412 is not limited to that describedabove. For example, the pattern display may be moved in the verticaldirection by the main electronic dial 71 and in the horizontal directionby the sub electronic dial 73. The pattern display may be moved in asingle direction by any of the main electronic dial 71 and the subelectronic dial 73 (for example, the pattern display may be moved in thehorizontal direction, and when reaching an end, moved by one point inthe vertical direction). The pattern display may be moved in a specificdirection to sequentially select the distance measuring point. The shapeof the pattern display 2412 may be changed in accordance with thepattern selected in the distance measuring area selection mode. Theshape of the pattern display 2412 may be changed in accordance with thedistance measuring area selection mode and/or the display position. Notethat although FIGS. 24A, 24B, and 24C show white balance and AF frameselection as setting items, these are merely examples. The sub screendisplay is configured to provide appropriate display and changeoperation for each setting item when changing the setting state of thesetting item.

Referring back to FIG. 23, if the currently displayed sub screen is nota screen to do function setting (setting value change) but a sub screento execute a function in accordance with pressing of the SET button, andan execution instruction is issued, the system control unit 50 executesthe function (steps S2306 and S2307). The sub screen transitionprocessing then ends. Note that if the cursor position is on the “OK”item when the system control unit 50 has judged that the SET button 75is pressed, the function may be executed. If the cursor position is onthe “cancel” item, the sub screen transition processing may be endedwithout executing the function.

Upon detecting an instruction to end the sub screen (an instruction toreturn to the setting screen) (step S2308), the system control unit 50ends the sub screen transition processing. On the other hand, if theinstruction to end the sub screen is not detected, the system controlunit 50 returns the process to step S2304. The sub screen transitionprocessing in step S2105 has been described above.

Electronic dial operation processing in step S2107 of FIG. 21 will bedescribed next with reference to FIGS. 25 to 28. In the electronic dialoperation processing, the processing method changes depending on thesetting item or display style of the object designated by the cursor2211. As an example of electronic dial operation processing, FIG. 25shows processing in a case in which the object selected by the cursor2211 is the setting item of white balance. When electronic dialoperation processing starts, the system control unit 50 judges whetheran operation on the main electronic dial 71 has occurred (step S2501).

Upon judging that an operation on the main electronic dial 71 hasoccurred, the system control unit 50 judges whether the display state ofthe object at the cursor position is the first display state (stepS2502). If the object at the cursor position is in the first displaystate, the system control unit 50 updates the first setting value of thesetting item at the cursor position, and stores the updated settingvalue in the nonvolatile memory 56 (step S2504). On the other hand, ifthe setting item at the cursor position is not in the first displaystate, the system control unit 50 updates the second setting value ofthe setting item at the cursor position in accordance with the operationof the main electronic dial 71, and stores the updated setting value inthe nonvolatile memory 56 (step S2503).

The first display state is

-   -   a case in which the setting item of white balance is displayed        using one (1×1) layout box, or    -   a case in which the setting item is displayed using two (2×1)        layout boxes in the horizontal direction, and the first setting        value having no dependent setting value is displayed. Here,        examples of the first setting value of white balance having no        dependent setting value are “auto” and preset values such as        “fine”, “cloudy”, and “lamp”. If the setting value of white        balance is “color temperature”, a dependent setting value        (Kelvin value) exists, and the setting item is not in the first        display state. In addition, in a case in which the display size        is 1×1, even when “color temperature” is selected by operating        the sub electronic dial 73, the Kelvin value cannot be changed        by operating the main electronic dial 71.

As described above, when the setting item is white balance, it is judgedthat the setting item is not in the first display state in a case inwhich the object is displayed in a display style using 2×1 layout boxes,and the first setting value (color temperature) and the second settingvalue (Kelvin value) are displayed (FIG. 22C). That is, it is judgedthat the setting item is in the second display state. If the object ofwhite balance is not in the first display state, the system control unit50 updates the second setting value (Kelvin value) in accordance withthe operation on the main electronic dial 71, and stores the updatingresult in the nonvolatile memory 56 (step S2503).

Upon detecting an operation on the sub electronic dial 73 (step S2505),the system control unit 50 updates the first setting value of thesetting item independently of whether the display style of the settingitem at the cursor position is the first display state (step S2506). Thesystem control unit 50 stores the updated setting value in thenonvolatile memory 56. As described above, in this embodiment, when anobject that displays first and second setting values is selected as thesetting target, it is possible to set the first setting value by the subelectronic dial 73 and set the second setting value by the mainelectronic dial 71. If an object that displays only the first settingvalue is selected, it is possible to change the first setting value bythe sub electronic dial 73 and the main electronic dial 71.

Note that the classification of the first display state and the seconddisplay state is not limited to that described above. For example, thefirst display state may be defined as a case in which the display sizeis 1×1, and the second display state may be defined as a case in whichthe display size is other than 1×1. In this case, for example, an objectwith a display size of 2×1 is handled as the second display stateindependently of the display contents. Hence, for example, if a presetvalue (a setting value other than a color temperature) of white balanceis set, there exists no setting value to be changed by the mainelectronic dial 71 for the corresponding object having the display size2×1.

Dial operation processing in step S2107 in a case in which the settingitem at the cursor position is AF frame selection will be described nextwith reference to the flowchart of FIG. 26. Setting values in AF frameselection will be described first. AF frame selection uses two types ofsetting values, that is, distance measuring area selection and distancemeasuring point selection. In distance measuring area selection, apattern of a distance measuring area is selected. Setting valuessettable in distance measuring area selection are spot AF (arbitrarilyselected), single-point AF (arbitrarily selected), AF area expansion(arbitrarily selected cross), AF area expansion (arbitrarily selectedperiphery), zone AF (arbitrarily selected zone), automatic AF selection,and the like.

In single-point AF (arbitrarily selected), one distance measuring pointto be used for distance measurement control is selected, and distancemeasurement control is performed. In spot AF (arbitrarily selected), onedistance measuring point to be used for distance measurement control isselected, and distance measurement control is performed using a narrowerportion of the selected distance measuring point. In AF area expansion(arbitrarily selected cross), one distance measuring point is selected,and distance measurement control is performed using the selecteddistance measuring point and adjacent distance measuring points on theupper, lower, left, and right sides. In AF area expansion (arbitrarilyselected periphery), one distance measuring point is selected, anddistance measurement control is performed using the selected distancemeasuring point and adjacent distance measuring points on the periphery.In zone AF (arbitrarily selected zone), one of distance measuring zonesformed by dividing the distance measuring points into nine groups isselected, and distance measurement control is performed using thedistance measuring points in the selected distance measuring zone. Inautomatic AF selection, distance measurement control is performed usingall distance measuring points. When automatic AF selection is selected,the processing of selecting a distance measuring point is not performed.In AI servo AF, however, a distance measurement control startingdistance measuring point is selected. AI servo AF is an AF operationcharacteristic to continuously perform distance measurement control foran object captured at the distance measurement control starting distancemeasuring point during a half stroke for the shutter 101.

Distance measuring point selection is a mode to cause the user to selectthe position of the pattern selected in distance measuring areaselection. For example, if single-point AF is selected as the distancemeasuring area, the pattern of the distance measuring area is onedistance measuring point. Hence, in distance measuring point selection,the user is caused to select the position of one distance measuringpoint. If zone AF is selected in distance measuring area selection, thepattern of the distance measuring area is a distance measuring zoneincluding a plurality of distance measuring points. Hence, in distancemeasuring point selection, the user is caused to select the position ofthe distance measuring zone.

FIGS. 27A to 27D show cases in which the setting item at the cursorposition is AF frame selection when the customization setting screen isset in the setting value change state. In such a screen display state,the user can update the setting value of AF frame selection. Referringto FIG. 27A, an object 2702 selected by a cursor 2701 on a settingscreen 2700 corresponds to the setting item of AF frame selection, andindicates a setting value by distance measuring area selection. Theobject 2702 is displayed in the first display state. When the mainelectronic dial 71 or the sub electronic dial 73 is operated in thisstate, the distance measuring area that is the first setting value canbe changed (steps S2604 and S2606).

In FIGS. 27B to 27D, an object 2712 selected by a cursor 2711 on thesetting screen 2700 corresponds to AF frame selection displayed in thesecond display state, and information of a setting value by distancemeasuring point selection is displayed. Referring to FIGS. 27B to 27D,pattern displays 2713, 2714, and 2715 are pattern displays of distancemeasuring point selection. The shape of the pattern display changesdepending on the setting value selected by distance measuring areaselection. In some distance measuring areas, the shape of the patterndisplay may change depending on the display position.

The pattern display 2713 is a pattern display when the setting value ofdistance measuring area selection is spot AF, single-point AF, orautomatic AF selection with AI servo AF setting. The pattern has a shapecorresponding to one distance measuring point. The pattern display 2714is a pattern display when the setting value of distance measuring areaselection is AF area expansion (arbitrarily selected periphery). Thepattern has a shape including one distance measuring point and adjacentdistance measuring points on the periphery. In a case of AF areaexpansion (arbitrarily selected cross), the pattern has a shapeincluding one distance measuring point and adjacent distance measuringpoints on the upper, lower, left, and right sides. The pattern display2715 is a pattern display when the setting value of distance measuringarea selection is zone AF. The pattern shown in FIG. 27D has a shapeincluding 12 distance measuring points.

Referring to FIG. 26, upon detecting the operation of the mainelectronic dial 71 (step S2601), the system control unit 50 judges thedisplay state of the setting item (object) at the cursor position (stepS2602). If the object at the cursor position is in the first displaystate, the system control unit 50 updates the first setting value of thesetting item represented by the object at the cursor position, andstores the setting value in the nonvolatile memory 56 (step S2604). Onthe other hand, upon judging that the setting item at the cursorposition is not in the first display state, the system control unit 50updates the second setting value of the setting item represented by theobject at the cursor position, and stores the setting value in thenonvolatile memory 56 (step S2603).

Upon detecting an operation on the sub electronic dial 73 (step S2605),the system control unit 50 judges the display state of the setting item(object) at the cursor position (step S2606). If the object at thecursor position is in the first display state, the system control unit50 updates the first setting value of the setting item represented bythe object, and stores the setting value in the nonvolatile memory 56(step S2608). On the other hand, upon judging that the setting item atthe cursor position is not in the first display state, the systemcontrol unit 50 updates the second setting value of the setting itemrepresented by the object at the cursor position, and stores the settingvalue in the nonvolatile memory 56 (step S2607).

The processing shown in FIG. 26 will be described in more detailconcerning a case in which the setting item at the cursor position is AFframe selection. It is judged in steps S2602 and S2606 that the objectis in the first display state when the display area of the object issmall (in this example, when the size is 1×1 layout box). In steps S2604and S2608, the system control unit 50 updates the distance measuringarea as the first setting value, and stores the updating result in thenonvolatile memory 56. As described above, when the object correspondingto AF frame selection is in the first display state, change of the firstsetting value (distance measuring area selection) is performed inaccordance with the operation of the main electronic dial 71 or the subelectronic dial 73.

The object is not in the first display state when the display area ofthe object is large (in this example, when the display style is 3×2, asshown in FIGS. 27B to 27D). In a case of this display style, the systemcontrol unit 50 updates the setting value of the distance measuringpoint in accordance with the operation of the main electronic dial 71,and stores the updated setting value of the distance measuring point inthe nonvolatile memory 56 (steps S2603 and S2607). The pattern display2713 or 2714 shown in FIG. 27B or 27C moves in the horizontal directionin accordance with the operation of the main electronic dial 71 (stepS2603) and moves in the vertical direction in accordance with theoperation of the sub electronic dial 73 (step S2607), thereby updatingthe second setting value (distance measuring point).

When the distance measuring area selection mode is zone AF (FIG. 27D),the setting value is updated such that the pattern display 2715sequentially selects each distance measuring zone in accordance with theoperation of the main electronic dial 71 or the sub electronic dial 73.The moving direction of the pattern display described concerning stepsS2603 and S2607 is not limited to that described above. The patterndisplay may move in a single direction, or the vertical and horizontaldirections may be replaced with each other. That is, the pattern displaymay be moved in the vertical direction by the main electronic dial 71and in the horizontal direction by the sub electronic dial 73. Thepattern display may be moved in a single direction by any of the mainelectronic dial 71 and the sub electronic dial 73 (for example, thepattern display may be moved in the horizontal direction, and whenreaching an end, moved by one point in the vertical direction).

As described above, in the case of AF frame selection, a distancemeasuring area can be selected for an object in the first display state(an object having a size of 1×1), and a distance measuring point can beselected for an object in the second display state (an object having asize of 3×2). That is, the settable item is switched depending on thedisplay size. For example, in the first display state, the operationtarget of the main electronic dial 71 or the sub electronic dial 73 isthe first setting value, and in the second display state, the operationtarget is the second setting value. When such an object is introduced,operability of AF frame selection on the customized setting screen 300improves.

As a setting value display method when numerical value display and scaledisplay exist as the display styles of a setting item and a settingmethod using the main electronic dial 71 and the sub electronic dial 73will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 28A and 28Band object display examples shown in FIGS. 29A and 29B.

FIG. 29A is a view showing objects of an exposure compensation value andan auto bracketing compensation value (to be referred to as an AEBcompensation value or simply as a bracketing value hereinafter) asexamples of setting items with numerical value display and scaledisplay. FIG. 29B is a view showing an object of the light controlcompensation value of a flash used at the time of shooting as an exampleof a setting item with numerical value display and scale display. Theobjects are laid out in layout boxes of a customizable setting screenand displayed, as described above.

Referring to FIG. 29A, an object 2901 displays an exposure compensationvalue and an AEB compensation value in a size of 1×1 layout box (1 box×1box in the vertical and horizontal directions). This display is definedas the first display state of the exposure compensation value and theAEB compensation value. An item 2902 indicates exposure compensationdisplay and is always displayed in the area of the object 2901. An item2903 is an object indicating the presence of an AEB compensation value,and is displayed in the object 2901 to show the presence of an AEBcompensation value when the AEB compensation value is not 0. An exposurecompensation value 2904 indicates the exposure compensation value by asigned numerical value.

An object 2911 displays an exposure compensation value and an AEBcompensation value in a size of 2×1 layout boxes (2 boxes×1 box in thevertical and horizontal directions). This display is defined as thesecond display state of the exposure compensation value and the AEBcompensation value. An item 2913 indicates an AEB compensation value. AnAEB compensation value 2915 indicates the AEB compensation value by anumerical value. The sign represents the operation of the AEB function.Simultaneous displaying plus and minus signs indicates that a plus AEBcompensation value and a minus AEB compensation value are applied to theexposure compensation value.

An object 2921 displays an exposure compensation value and an AEBcompensation value in a size of 3×1 layout boxes (3 boxes×1 box in thevertical and horizontal directions). When the object has the displaysize of 3×1, the compensation value and AEB are displayed using a scale.This display is defined as the third display state of the exposurecompensation value and the AEB compensation value. A dot indicator 2924indicates an exposure compensation value. A numerical value on the scaleimmediately above indicates the set exposure compensation value. A dotindicator 2925 indicates an AEB compensation value. The difference fromthe dot indicator 2924 indicating the exposure compensation value on thescale to the dot indicator 2925 represents the AEB compensation value. Anumerical value on the scale immediately above the dot indicator 2925indicates the exposure compensation value considering the AEBcompensation. Note that if the AEB compensation value is 0, the dotindicator 2925 is not displayed. A dot indicator 2926 indicates an AEBcompensation value, like the dot indicator 2925. The dot indicator 2926indicates that a plus AEB compensation value is applied to the exposurecompensation value. The dot indicator 2925 indicates that a minuscompensation value is applied.

Referring to FIG. 29B, the object 2931 displays a light controlcompensation value in a size of 1×1 layout box (1 box×1 box in thevertical and horizontal directions). This display is defined as thefirst display state of the light control compensation value. An item2932 indicates light control compensation display and is alwaysdisplayed in the object 2931. The item 2933 indicates that the lightcontrol compensation value is adapted to an external flash, and isdisplayed when the external flash is connected. A light controlcompensation value 2934 indicates the light control compensation valueby a signed numerical value.

An object 2941 of the light control compensation value is displayed in asize of 2×1 layout boxes (2 boxes×1 box in the vertical and horizontaldirections). This display is defined as the second display state of thelight control compensation value. The object 2941 can display the lightcontrol compensation value larger than the display of the object 2931,and therefore has higher visibility than the display of the object 2931.

An object 2951 of the light control compensation value is displayed in asize of 3×1 layout boxes (3 boxes×1 box in the vertical and horizontaldirections). In this size, the object displays the light controlcompensation value using a scale. This display is defined as the thirddisplay state of the light control compensation value. A dot indicator2955 is a dot indicator indicating a light control compensation value. Anumerical value on the scale immediately above the dot indicatorindicates the light control compensation value. Note that these displaysmay display the compensation state upon shooting on a shootinginformation display screen.

The flowcharts of FIGS. 28A and 28B explain a method of setting asetting item with an object using the above-described numerical valuedisplay or scale display concerning electronic dial operation processingof step S2108. The processing shown in FIGS. 28A and 28B is processingperformed when the setting item at the cursor position indicates anexposure compensation value and an AEB compensation value.

When the dial operation processing starts, the system control unit 50judges whether an operation on the main electronic dial 71 has occurred(step S2801). Upon judging that an operation on the main electronic dial71 has occurred, the system control unit 50 judges whether the object(In this case, display of the exposure compensation value and the AEBcompensation value) at the cursor position has the first display state(step S2802). If the object has the first display state, the systemcontrol unit 50 updates the exposure compensation value by the amount ofthe operation of the main electronic dial 71, and stores the updatedexposure compensation value in the nonvolatile memory 56 (step S2803).At this time, the system control unit 50 changes the numerical value ofthe exposure compensation value represented by the exposure compensationvalue 2904 that is a constituent element of the object 2901 in the firstdisplay state to the updated value.

If the object (display of the exposure compensation value and the AEBcompensation value) at the cursor position does not have the firstdisplay state, the system control unit 50 judges whether the object hasthe second display state (step S2804). If the object has the seconddisplay state, the system control unit 50 updates the AEB compensationvalue by the operation amount of the main electronic dial 71, and storesthe updated value in the nonvolatile memory 56 (step S2805). The systemcontrol unit 50 also changes the numerical value of the AEB compensationvalue represented by the AEB compensation value 2915 that is aconstituent element of the object 2911 displayed in the second displaystate to the updated value.

If the object (display of the exposure compensation value and the AEBcompensation value) at the cursor position does not have the seconddisplay state, either, the object is judged to have the third displaystate. In this case, the system control unit 50 updates the AEBcompensation value by the amount of the operation of the main electronicdial 71, and stores the updated value in the nonvolatile memory 56 (stepS2806). In addition, the system control unit 50 changes the dotindicators 2925 and 2926 of the object 2921 in the third display stateto the position of the updated AEB compensation value based on thecurrent exposure compensation value as a reference.

Upon detecting occurrence of an operation on the sub electronic dial 73(step S2807), the system control unit 50 judges whether the object (Inthis example, display of the exposure compensation value and the AEBcompensation value) at the cursor position has the first display state(step S2808). If the object has the first display state, the systemcontrol unit 50 updates the exposure compensation value by the amount ofthe operation of the sub electronic dial 73, and stores the updatedexposure compensation value in the nonvolatile memory 56 (step S2809).The system control unit 50 also changes the numerical value of theexposure compensation value 2904 that is a constituent element of theobject 2901 to the updated value. In the first display state (object2901), the exposure compensation value is displayed, and the AEBcompensation value is not displayed. Hence, the exposure compensationvalue is changed by operating any of the main electronic dial 71 and thesub electronic dial 73 (steps S2803 and S2809).

If the object at the cursor position does not have the first displaystate, the system control unit 50 judges whether the object has thesecond display state (step S2810). Upon judging that the object has thesecond display state, the system control unit 50 updates the exposurecompensation value by the amount of the operation of the sub electronicdial 73, and stores the updated value in the nonvolatile memory 56 (stepS2811). The system control unit 50 also changes the numerical value ofthe exposure compensation value 2904 that is a constituent element ofthe object 2911 in the second display state to the updated value.

If the setting item at the cursor position does not have the seconddisplay state, either, the setting item is judged to have the thirddisplay state. In this case, the system control unit 50 updates theexposure compensation value by the amount of the operation of the subelectronic dial 73, and stores the updated value in the nonvolatilememory 56 (step S2812) In addition, the system control unit 50 moves theposition of the dot indicator 2924 that is a constituent element of theobject 2921 such that the value of scale display immediately abovebecomes the same value as the updated exposure compensation value, anddisplays the dot indicator again. If the AEB compensation value has asetting value other than 0, the dot indicators 2925 and 2926 are laidout again based on the updated exposure compensation value as areference. Note that if the setting item at the cursor position is lightcontrol compensation as shown in FIG. 29B, all setting value changeprocesses (change of the exposure compensation value and the AEBcompensation value) in the flowcharts of FIGS. 28A and 28B are changedto light control compensation value change to cope with this case. Notethat the object 2911, the object 2921, and the objects 2931 to 2951 havethe same provided information amount and operation contents. However,the visibility of the display contents changes depending on the displaysize. Hence, the user can select an object of a desired display size inconsideration of the balance between the visibility of the object andthe occupied area on the setting screen.

Processing of selecting and executing processing concerning thecustomization setting function of a setting item at the time of shootingwill be described next. As described above with reference to FIGS. 5A to5C, the customization setting function is activated by pressing the MENUbutton 84 to display the menu screen 500 (FIG. 5A), moving the cursor511 to “quick setting customization”, and pressing the SET button 75.When the customization setting function is activated, the menu screen520 as shown in FIG. 5B is displayed first. On the menu screen 520,execution of one of

-   -   start layout editing: screen transition to layout editing        processing for the customizable shooting setting screen    -   return to initial layout state: initialization of setting items        on the customized shooting setting screen    -   delete all items: deletion of all setting items laid out on the        customized shooting setting screen can be selected.

The user can select a desired setting item by vertically moving thecursor 511 on the menu screen 520 shown in FIG. 5B, and execute thedesired item by pressing the SET button 75. A case in which the menuitem “start layout editing” is selected has been described above withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 6.

When the menu item “return to initial layout state” is selected on themenu screen 520, and the SET button is pressed, a confirmation screen3010 for the start of initialization, as shown in FIG. 30A, isdisplayed. Processing of returning to the initial layout state will bereferred to as initialization hereinafter. An OK button 3011 is a buttonconfigured to execute initialization of objects (setting items) laid outon the customizable setting screen. A cancel button 3012 is a buttonconfigured to end processing without executing the initialization. Theuser can execute initialization processing of the customizable settingscreen by selecting the OK button 3011 and pressing the SET button 75.In the initialization, all objects (setting items) laid out on thecustomized setting screen are deleted, and a customizable setting screenis set in accordance with the object layout stored in the nonvolatilememory 56 of the digital camera 100 in advance.

FIG. 30B shows a confirmation screen 3020 displayed when the menu item“delete all items” on the menu screen 520 (FIG. 5B) is selected, and theSET button 75 is pressed in this state. An OK button 3021 is a buttonconfigured to execute deletion of all setting items laid out on thecustomized setting screen. A cancel button 3022 is a button configuredto end processing without executing the deletion of all items. The usercan execute deletion of all objects on the setting screen by selectingthe OK button 3021 and pressing the SET button 75. FIG. 30C shows anediting screen corresponding to the customizable setting screen afterexecution of deletion of all items. Since deletion of all items isexecuted, no object is laid out on the customizable setting screen. Theediting screen only has display of layout boxes, as shown in FIG. 30C.

Note that when the menu screen 520 shown in FIG. 5B is displayed, thedisplay contents may be changed depending on whether the customizablesetting screen is selected as a screen to be displayed by the INFObutton 83 (that is, in accordance with the setting contents describedwith reference to FIG. 19). For example, if the customizable settingscreen is not selected as a screen to be displayed by the INFO button83, a menu item indicating transition to “display selection processing(FIG. 18)” may be added to the menu items on the menu screen 520.Alternatively, in addition to or in place of such a menu item, a noterepresenting that the customizable setting screen is not set as a screento be displayed by the INFO button 83 may be displayed. This can preventa situation in which the setting screen is edited using the quicksetting customization function but not displayed in the shooting standbystate.

A case in which processing or the function of a setting item isimmediately executed without causing a transition to a sub screen in subscreen transition processing (FIG. 23) executed in step S2105 of FIG. 21will be described next with reference to FIGS. 31A to 31E. Assume thatthe setting screen has a state as shown in FIG. 31A when the systemcontrol unit 50 detects pressing of the SET button. For the setting itemlocated at the cursor position upon judging that the SET button 75 ispressed, the system control unit 50 judges whether to immediatelyexecute the function without displaying a sub screen (step S2301).

A description will be made here using a camera setting initializationfunction as a function that needs sub screen display and a sensorcleaning function as a function that does not need sub screen display.The camera setting initialization function is a function of returningthe shooting function or settings done on the menu screen to the initialstate. When executing the camera setting initialization function fromthe menu screen, a sub screen 3110 (FIG. 31B) is displayed for the sakeof safety, and execution is confirmed. The sensor cleaning function is afunction of removing dust applied to the front surface of the imagesensor. When executing the sensor cleaning function from the menuscreen, a sub screen 3120 (FIG. 31C) is displayed to confirm execution.However, if the sensor cleaning function is selected from a customizablesetting screen 3100, the function is immediately executed. Since theuser sufficiently grasps the function that the user has selected fromthe customized setting screen, the function can be executed immediatelywithout a problem. In addition, a high operability can be obtained byexecuting the function by a single operation.

When the setting screen has the state shown in FIG. 31A upon detectingpressing of the SET button 75 in step S2104, an object 3102 located atthe cursor position is the sensor cleaning function. In this case, thesystem control unit 50 judges that the setting item at the cursorposition corresponds to a function to be immediately executed (stepS2301). The system control unit 50 then displays a function executionscreen 3140 (FIG. 31E) without displaying the sub screen 3120,immediately executes the sensor cleaning function (step S2307), and endsthe processing.

On the other hand, if the setting item located at the cursor positionupon detecting pressing of the SET button 75 in step S2104 is camerasetting initialization (object 3101), the system control unit 50 judgesthat the setting item is not a setting item whose function is to beimmediately executed (step S2301). Upon judging that the setting item isnot a setting item whose function is to be immediately executed, thesystem control unit 50 judges whether to execute transition to a subscreen (step S2302). Upon judging to transition to a sub screen, thesystem control unit 50 displays the sub screen 3110 (FIG. 22B) (stepS2303), and confirms with the user about execution of the processing.Since the sub screen 3110 is not a screen to change a setting value, thesystem control unit 50 judges whether an execution instruction is issued(step S2306). Here, the process advances to step S2307 in accordancewith pressing of the SET button 75. Upon judging that the SET button 75is pressed (step S2306), if the cursor is located on an OK button 3104,the system control unit 50 displays a function execution screen 3130(FIG. 31D), and executes the function (camera initialization) (stepS2307). After that, the processing ends. On the other hand, if thecursor is located on a cancel button 3103 when the SET button 75 ispressed in a state in which the sub screen 3110 is displayed, thetransition processing ends without executing camera initializationprocessing.

Note that camera setting initialization has been exemplified as asetting item whose function is executed after displaying a sub screen.However, the present invention is not limited to this, as a matter ofcourse. For example, a function that loses data upon execution, afunction that loses settings upon execution, a function that takes timeto process, and a function that increases current consumption arefunctions that need sub screen display. In addition, sensor cleaning hasbeen exemplified as a function to be executed immediately withoutdisplaying a sub screen. However, the present invention is not limitedto this, as a matter of course. For example, functions other than theabove-described functions that need sub screen display may be set as thefunctions to be executed immediately without performing confirmationprocessing by sub screen display.

Whether to execute a function via a sub screen may be set from a styleselection screen as shown in FIG. 9B or the like. For example, when theobject of sensor cleaning is selected on the setting screen, and the SETbutton 75 is pressed in this state, this allows the user to set whetherto immediately execute sensor cleaning or execute sensor cleaning via asub screen.

If a plurality of objects can be displayed on the setting screen for onesetting item, item ID information to be added to a layout box may bechanged even if the setting item is the same. This enables a pluralityof objects of the same setting item to be laid out.

As described above, according to the above embodiment, an object to bedisplayed on the setting screen can be selected in consideration of thedisplay size and the information amount to be displayed. This enables asetting screen to be provided according to the taste of the user.

According to the above embodiment, it is possible to display morepreferable setting contents according to the display size of a settingitem.

According to the above embodiment, it is possible to reduce the numberof operations until execution of a function that the user knows well.

According to the above embodiment, it is possible to display an itemconcerning focus in a size suitable for the contents of informationdesired by the user and facilitate confirmation of a setting concerningfocus.

Note that in the above embodiment, the cross key or SET button is usedto, for example, select an item displayed on the screen. However, thepresent invention is not limited to this. A touch panel may be providedon the display unit 28 to enable a direct instruction for a button orthe like on the screen by a touch operation.

Note that control of the system control unit 50 may be done by one pieceof hardware, or a plurality of pieces of hardware may share theprocessing to control the entire device. The present invention has beendescribed above in detail based on the preferred embodiments. However,the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments andcan incorporate various forms without departing from the scope of thepresent invention. The above-described embodiments are merely examplesof the present invention and can also be combined as needed.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the presentinvention is applied to a digital camera has been described. However,the present invention is not limited to this example and is applicableto any electronic device capable of customizing the objects of settingitems to be displayed on the screen. That is, the present invention isapplicable to a personal computer, a PDA, a portable telephone terminal,a portable image viewer, a printer apparatus including a display, adigital photo frame, a music player, a game machine, an electronic bookreader, and the like.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2015-020609, filed Feb. 4, 2015, Japanese Patent Application No.2015-020610, filed Feb. 4, 2015, Japanese Patent Application No.2015-020636, filed Feb. 4, 2015, Japanese Patent Application No.2015-020637, filed Feb. 4, 2015, Japanese Patent Application No.2015-020638, filed Feb. 4, 2015, Japanese Patent Application No.2015-020639, filed Feb. 4, 2015, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An imaging control apparatus comprising: amemory; and at least one processor performing the functions of: asetting unit configured to set, in accordance with a user operation,display size of a focus item corresponding to a focus adjustmentposition on a setting screen from a plurality of display sizes includingat least a first display size and a second display size larger than thefirst display size, wherein in a case where the first display size isset, a first object including a single selectable focus adjustment areato set a focus position is displayed in the first display size in thesetting screen and in a case where the second display size is set, asecond object including a plurality of focus adjustment areas selectableto set the focus position is displayed in the setting screen; and acontrol unit configured to control, in a case where the first displaysize is set by the user, change a setting of a focus adjustment area orwhen a first operation is performed in a state of the first object beingselected by the user, and in a case where the second display size is setby the user, change the set focus adjustment area in response to aselection of at least one of the plurality of focus adjustment areasdisplayed in the second object when the first operation is performed ina state of the second object being selected by the user, and wherein inthe case where the second object is displayed, when the first operationis performed in the state of the second object being selected, thecontrol unit controls to change the focus adjustment positioncorresponding to the set focus adjustment area in a first directionindicated when the user selects a first one of the selectable focusadjustment areas, and when a second operation is performed in the stateof the second object being selected, the control unit controls to changethe focus adjustment position corresponding to the set focus adjustmentarea in a second direction indicated when the user selects a second oneof the selectable focus adjustment areas, different from the firstdirection.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the casewhere the first object is displayed in the first display size, when thesecond operation is performed in the state of the first object beingselected, the control unit controls to change the setting of the focusadjustment area.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thesetting unit sets how many unit areas, each unit area having apredetermined size, to use to display the first object and the secondobject.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unitdisplays one of the first object and the second object on a screen thatdisplays contents of a plurality of setting items concerning shooting byan imaging unit in a shooting standby state.
 5. The apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the at least one processor further performs thefunctions of a layout unit configured to set, in accordance with a useroperation, a position at which one of the first object and the secondobject is displayed.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein thelayout unit can further lay out a setting item selected by a user out ofa plurality of setting items on a screen that displays the first objector the second object.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thecontrol unit controls to display an object corresponding to the setfocus adjustment area as the first object, and display a plurality ofpositions selectable as the focus adjustment position and the set focusadjustment position as the second object.
 8. A control method of animaging control apparatus, comprising: a setting unit configured to set,in accordance with a user operation, display size of a focus itemcorresponding to a focus adjustment position on a setting screen from aplurality of display sizes including at least a first display size and asecond display size larger than the first display size, wherein in acase where the first display size is set, a first object including asingle selectable focus adjustment area to set a focus position isdisplayed in the first display size in the setting screen and in a casewhere the second display size is set, a second object including aplurality of focus adjustment areas selectable to set the focus positionis displayed in the setting screen; and a control unit configured tocontrol, in a case where the first display size is set by the user,change a setting of a focus adjustment area or when a first operation isperformed in a state of the first object being selected by the user, andIn a case where the second display size is set by the user, change theset focus adjustment area in response to a selection of at least one ofthe plurality of focus adjustment areas displayed in the second objectwhen the first operation is performed in a state of the second objectbeing selected by the user, and wherein in the case where the secondobject is displayed, when the first operation is performed in the stateof the second object being selected, the control unit controls to changethe focus adjustment position corresponding to the set focus adjustmentarea in a first direction indicated when the user selects a first one ofthe selectable focus adjustment areas, and when a second operation isperformed in the state of the second object being selected, the controlunit controls to change the focus adjustment position corresponding tothe set focus adjustment area in a second direction indicated when theuser selects a second one of the selectable focus adjustment areas,different from the first direction.
 9. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing acomputer to execute a control method of an imaging control apparatus,comprising: a setting unit configured to set, in accordance with a useroperation, display size of a focus item corresponding to a focusadjustment position on a setting screen from a plurality of displaysizes including at least a first display size and a second display sizelarger than the first display size, wherein in a case where the firstdisplay size is set, a first object including a single selectable focusadjustment area to set a focus area is displayed in the first displaysize in the setting screen and in a case where the second display sizeis set, a second object including a plurality of focus adjustment areasselectable to set the focus position is displayed in the setting screen;and a control unit configured to control, in a case where the firstdisplay size is set by the user, change a setting of a focus adjustmentarea or when a first operation is performed in a state of the firstobject being selected by the user, and In a case where the seconddisplay size is set by the user, change the set focus adjustment area inresponse to a selection of at least one of the plurality of focusadjustment areas displayed in the second object when the first operationis performed in a state of the second object being selected by the user,and wherein in the case where the second object is displayed, when thefirst operation is performed in the state of the second object beingselected, the control unit controls to change the focus adjustmentposition corresponding to the set focus adjustment area in a firstdirection indicated when the user selects a first one of the selectablefocus adjustment areas, and when a second operation is performed in thestate of the second object being selected, the control unit controls tochange the focus adjustment position corresponding to the set focusadjustment area in a second direction indicated when the user selects asecond one of the selectable focus adjustment areas, different from thefirst direction.